


Heart of a Lion

by Marvel_ously_Me



Series: The White Lion [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Magic/Energy Manipulation, Sentient Voltron Lions, Telepathic Bond, Telepathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-30
Updated: 2017-07-31
Packaged: 2018-12-08 18:11:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 36,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11651943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marvel_ously_Me/pseuds/Marvel_ously_Me
Summary: After barely escaping their fight against Zarkon, Team Voltron has to focus on gathering resources, finding allies, and coming up with a plan to take down Zarkon once and for all. But, they're going to have to survive and find each other first, after being scattered across the universe.Lee struggles with wanting to be strong enough to protect the people she cares about, and she pushes herself and her powers, but will she push too far? And when she can no longer avoid thinking about her past, she is forced to confront some of the feelings she has been avoiding since waking up.At the same time, the connection between Lee and Keith grows stronger, as the two of them grow closer than ever. But, will this new relationship be able to survive the trials headed their way?**This fic follows season 2 of Voltron with my OC Lee





	1. Episode 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm back! I have been writing like crazy this last week because I wanted to get my season 2 fic for Voltron up before season 3 came out. For some reason I had thought season 3 wasn't coming out until September, and so when I wrote episode 1 for this fic a week ago, I thought I was doing well, getting started early. Then, last Sunday I happened to decide to look it up just in case and saw that season 3 was actually going up on Netflix August 4th. So I've been writing 2 or 3 episodes a day for the last week, so that I could get it all done before my family goes off on vacation on Monday. We are supposed to have Wi-Fi, but just in case I'm gonna post it all before we leave. 
> 
> I've edited the episodes as I wrote them, and I'm going to try and edit as I post them too, in case I missed anything, but if anyone notices any glaring mistakes or something that doesn't make sense, please point it out and I'll edit it when I can!
> 
> This fic is going to be similar to my last one, in that I wrote it following the episode the closest I could manage while still doing what I wanted with it. That means that some of the lines are exact quotes from the show. However, if I'm not really changing anything in a scene, I may skip it, or skip to a point where something is changed. This fic has more scenes that take place outside the show, mostly cute interactions between Keith and Lee.
> 
> So, I think that covers most everything you need to know, so go ahead, read and (hopefully) enjoy!

The only thing Lee was aware of was darkness around her. She struggled to remember the events that led to her being there, but she was having difficulty grasping onto any kind of concrete thought. It felt like she was afloat in the darkness, without a single anchor to hold her in place; she was completely alone. She would’ve been worried or scared, but she felt detached from everything, even her own emotions. She was unsure as to how much time she’d spent in the darkness when she felt a ripple of energy from somewhere in the emptiness. 

As she turned to look, she saw a faint light far off in the distance. She felt something deep inside her urging her towards the light, and as she got closer she began to hear a faint voice calling her name. Warmth spread through her as she recognized the voice, and she pushed herself faster, wanting to reach the person the voice belonged to. As she got closer the light got brighter, burning away the darkness, and forcing her to close her eyes. 

When she was able to prise her eyelids open, she had to blink multiple times as she tried to get used to seeing more than just darkness again. Once her vision had cleared, she saw a familiar worried face hovering above her.

“Lee!” Keith exclaimed relief replacing worry as the predominant emotion on his face.

“Keith?” She questioned, moving to sit up. As she did she looked around, realizing that she was cradled on Keith’s lap in the cockpit of the Red Lion. She looks outside only to see an unknown landscape stretching out around them. “What happened?”

As she looks around she catches a glimpse of the new suit she’s wearing, that Coran gave her so she could go out and join the fight, and with a gasp she remembers the events that led here: Allura being taken prisoner; attacking Zarkon’s base; being trapped inside and unable to escape; her fighting as the white lion to try and protect Keith; and finally, their desperate escape through a wormhole only for something to go wrong, and them all being scattered across the universe. 

“After we fell through the wormhole we crash landed on this planet. I remember seeing the Black Lion falling with us, and I think it crashed not too far away from us. So I guess, we’ll go rendezvous with Shiro, and figure out our next move from there.” Keith says, but instead of moving to pilot Red away, he just tightens his arms around her, gaze staying locked on her face.

“Keith? What’s the matter?” She asks, and his brows furrow as he shakes his head. He leans forward, kissing her gently, and she grasps his shoulders, returning the kiss. It is sweet and gentle; an assurance that they are okay, that they made it, and are safe together. Keith pulls back slightly, and he rests his fore head against hers. 

“You’re okay?” He asks, and she pecks his lips again, a smile spreading across her lips at his blatant worry; she finds it endearing. One of her hands slides up to cup his cheek, and when his eyes open, she makes sure to meet his gaze with her own.

“I’m fine, really. You saved me, you kept your promise, and got both of us out safe and together.” She says, warm smile on her face. Keith scoffs, pulling back slightly.

“I saved you? Lee, you- once again you show up and just, amaze me with what you can do. I mean, you were inside the lion that time right? You bailed me and Red out of a tight situation, and you were holding your ground against Zarkon. All I did was manage to pilot Red right into Zarkon’s path. I didn’t get us out of there, I almost got us killed. If it wasn’t for Shiro, we wouldn’t have made it out.” Keith says, and she can see the frustration on his face. Lee leans up, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, and tucking her face into the crook between his neck and shoulder.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You saw how Zarkon was going after my body, he knew that that was my weak point. If it hadn’t been for you going out and risking your life, who knows what may have happened to my body, to me. And it wasn’t like you were the only one who wanted to go after Zarkon at the end there, I wanted to just as much. As far as I’m concerned, we got out safe, and together, and you kept your promise. So, how about you just accept the fact that I’m right?” Lee suggests, her lips brushing against the skin of his throat as she speaks, sending pleasant shivers down his spine.

He huffs out a breath, unable to stop a grin from spreading across his lips. “Alright, fine, I guess I can’t argue with you.” He acquiesces, and she giggles. 

“Exactly.” She says, pressing a kiss to the side of his neck. Keith jolts slightly at the unexpected, but pleasant sensation, but Lee is already leaning back and away, grinning broadly at him. “Alright then, let’s go and find Shiro, and then we can try and figure out where the rest of our wayward teammates may have ended up.” 

Lee slides out of his lap, moving to stand at the side of his chair with an arm wrapped around the top of it. Keith moves his attention to his lion, moving the controls as he tries to get a response. He exchanges a worried glance with Lee when nothing happens. As Keith tries again, Lee closes her eyes in an effort to reach Red telepathically. When she reaches out for the connection with Red, she has to reach deep into the connection. When she finally reaches Red, she receives a tired grumble. She reassures the lion, saying that it deserves a rest. She retreats back out of her mind, looking down at Keith who is still trying to get Red to move.

“Red won’t be moving anytime soon. It’ll take some time, and maybe even some repairs to get back to full power, but for now, if we want to find Shiro, we’re going to have to do it ourselves.” Lee informs Keith, who slumps dejectedly. He sighs, before reaching forward and patting the console.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you all fixed up. That was a tough battle, so you deserve a break anyway.” He says, giving one last pat before standing up and turning to Lee. “Let’s head out.”

Lee takes off the suit of armour Coran gave her, choosing to leave it inside Red. If she's going to need to be moving around at all, then she doesn't want the unfamiliar weight of the armour slowing her down. 

A hatch opens up in the top of Red, and Keith climbs up and out first. He takes a quick look around, before turning to offer Lee a hand as she climbs out. Lee accepts it, keeping hold of it once she’s out. She moves to stand beside Keith, also looking out at the landscape. 

“So, do you have any idea where we are?” Keith asks, turning to look at Lee. She shakes her head, biting her lip slightly.

“No, sorry. We could be anywhere in the universe, and the rest of the paladins, and the castle, they could be spread anywhere too. We could be light years apart from each other.” She says, a worried look taking over her face, as she thinks about their lost team.

“Well, we at least know that Shiro is somewhere on this planet, so we’d better go find him. If he crash landed too, he may even be hurt somewhere.” Lee can see that Keith is really concerned about Shiro, and she is worried about their team leader as well. She squeezes his hand, and when he looks over she gives him a reassuring smile.

“We’ll find him.” She says determinedly, and he nods, determination taking over his face as well. The two climb down from atop Red, and begin running towards where Keith’s helmet is showing coordinates. 

“Shiro, can you hear me? Shiro! Shiro, are you there?” Keith tries to reach Shiro over the coms, but all they hear back is static. 

“Shiro if you can hear us, we’re coming to find you. If you can, stick with the Black Lion and we’ll be there as soon as we can.” Lee says hoping that somehow he may be able to hear them. As they keep running, Keith continues to try and reach Shiro over the coms, when eventually they get a response.

“Keith? I’m here, I’m okay.” He says, and Lee can’t stop a relieved smile from appearing.

“Shiro, you made it.” Keith replies.

“It takes more than a glowing alien wound, a fall from the upper atmosphere and crashing into a hard panned surface at what I’m guessing is probably 25 metres per second squared to get rid of me. How are you?” He asks, and Lee pauses, for one because they had run out of flat terrain to run on, and for two, because she had no idea Shiro had been wounded in the fight. Keith turns to her, swiftly sweeping her into his arms and leaping off the edge, firing up his thrusters.

“Not good. My lion is busted. Wait-what wound?” He asks, pausing on a small outcropping, he looks down at Lee, brows furrowed. She gives him a matching worried look, and Keith takes off again, a renewed sense of urgency taking over. Once they hit the bottom and see flat land again, Lee makes Keith set her down, getting on her disk while Keith continues to use his thrusters, so that they can get to Shiro quicker.

“It’s nothing” Shiro says, but the groan he lets out afterwards comes through the coms as well.

“Hang on, we’re coming.” Keith says, and there is a pause, and then they hear Shiro whispering.

“On second thought, you better hurry.” He tells them, and Lee feel her heart stutter a second as her thoughts race, trying to figure out what could have made Shiro sound so worried, but the possibilities whirl with no idea what may actually be happening.

“Shiro, what happened?” Keith asks, and as they continue rushing towards Shiro, Lee’s instincts send a quick pulse of warning, and she rushes to the side, pushing Keith over, and a geyser erupts where he just was. The two pause, looking backwards, then register Shiro’s quiet response to Keith’s question.

“There’s several creatures.” Keith and Lee quickly look to each other before taking off again. This time, Lee goes first, her instincts allowing her to lead them around the geysers, and Keith follows her exact path. Lee reaches a cliff’s edge, and she quickly skids to a stop. She hears Keith cry out, and turns to see a geyser spring up behind Keith, which knocks him off balance, sending him rolling across the ground. He’s headed straight for the cliff, and as he passes her, Lee lunges, grabbing onto his wrist. 

Keith dangles above a deep chasm, Lee’s grip the only thing keeping him from falling. She hangs half over the edge of the cliff, and Keith’s eyes widen as he realizes the close call he just had. Lee reaches down and grabs him with her other arm as well, straining to hold his full weight. Keith quickly fires up his thrusters, which sends him flying up. Lee jerks backward as he flies up, sprawling flat on her back. After that quick burst Keith turns off his thrusters and comes crashing down right on top of Lee. The two lay like that a few moments, both their hearts racing at the close call. Lee throws her arms around Keith’s neck, clinging to him for a moment. 

“Keith are you okay? What happened?” Shiro asks, and they come back to their present situation. They both take a deep breath, then Keith pushes himself to his feet, extending a hand to pull Lee up as well. They walk to the edge of the cliff, trying to find a way to get across.

“Minor delay.” Keith says, and Lee pipes up, finally jumping into the conversation.

“Don’t worry Shiro, I’m here to save Keith’s butt.” Lee nudges Keith’s side, grinning at him.

“Oh, Lee, that’s right, I forgot you were with Keith in the Red Lion when it crashed. You’re alright?” Shiro asks.

“I’m fine. It sounds like you should probably be worrying about yourself though, what’s happening over there now? Are you still okay?” Lee inquires.

“Yeah I’m alright, but now I’m trapped in a cave, and some nasty looking creatures have me cornered.” He tells them, and Lee sees Keith’s hands clench into fists. 

“Just hang on Shiro, we’ll be there soon.” Keith says determinedly, before he looks back down at the massive crack in the ground that stands between them and Shiro. “I just have to figure this out.”

“Hey, it’s not just you, remember, we’re in this together. And I think I’ve got an idea.” Lee steps forward, taking Keith’s clenched hand and gently prising his fist open to thread her own fingers through his. 

“What’s your idea?” He asks, and Lee hesitates a minute, looking to the side briefly, before firming her resolve and meeting his eyes.

“I’m not sure you’re going to like it.” She says, and he nods, urging her to tell him. “Well, in that fight against Zarkon, I was inside my white lion. I could see through its eyes and I was the white lion. It’s the first time that’s happened, so I don’t know a lot about exactly what I’m capable of like that, but I think I may be able to form it on the other side and then go into it. Then I could go after Shiro myself and at the least I could protect him from the creatures until you can get there.” 

“But, will you even be able to go that far away? Because your body would still be here right?” Keith asks, and Lee bites her lip.

“Yeah, but you could just leave it here while you get yourself across.”

“Are you serious? Lee, Shiro is being attacked by creatures right now and you want me to leave your defenseless body out in the open all by itself? No way! I’ll figure out a way to get both of across I just need a little time.” 

“What if Shiro doesn’t have that time. He’s already hurt, and now he’s being attacked. I can do something, I can help him, and I know you’re worried but it’ll be okay. The only thing is that I won’t be able to take my com with me, so I don’t know how I’d be able to talk to you-…” Lee cuts herself off, her brows furrowing slightly as a thought occurs to her.

“What? What’d you just think of?” Keith asks.

“Well, remember when I helped you find your lion, and we connected our minds? Well that connection is still there, even though we haven’t been using it. It was only a bare, shallow connection, but if we opened it up more, connected more deeply, we could communicate through it.” Lee explains hesitantly, worried over what Keith’s reaction will be to finding out that the connection was still there.

“Wait, so we can talk to each other in our minds?” Keith asks, and she is too afraid to meet his eyes, looking to the side instead.

“We could, if we furthered the connection.” She says.

“That’s awesome!” Keith exclaims, and Lee looks up to him in surprise. He is grinning at her, but then he suddenly purses his lips, looking carefully at her. “Wait you can’t read my mind right?”

“What? No! It doesn’t work like that. It’s sort of like the coms, you’d open up the connection and say what you want me to hear, and leave it closed most of the time and I wouldn’t hear anything. It’s just that instead of out loud, you’d be speaking it inside your head.” She explains, and Keith nods, a thoughtful look on his face. 

“Okay then, let’s do it.” He says, and Lee’s eyes widen in surprise.

“What really?” She exclaims, shocked he would so readily agree to it, especially when as far as she is aware humans don’t communicate telepathically at all. 

“Yeah. It makes sense, I mean there is no way I’m letting you go off by yourself with no way of knowing whether or not you’re okay. I’m sure about this, and we don’t have time to wait anymore, so let’s do it.” Lee studies his face, seeing the absolute conviction and trust, and knowing that he is sure, she agrees. 

She closes her eyes, reaching into her consciousness for the faint trace of their shallow connection. When she finds it, she reaches deeper through it, opening it further and strengthening it. When she reaches the barrier of Keith’s mind, she prods gently at it, and is pleasantly surprised when he immediately opens it up to her. She guides Keith’s consciousness to the connection, showing him where it is, then retreats back down their connection to her own mind. She opens her eyes only to see Keith with an awed, dazed look on his face.

 _‘Keith, can you hear me?’_ She asks down the connection. He jerks, surprised, blinking rapidly at her. 

“Wait, your lips didn’t move but I heard you. Did you say that in my mind?” He asks, and Lee smiles, nodding.

 _‘I did. Now you try, reach out for the connection and just sort of push what you want me to hear down it.’_ Lee instructs, and Keith nods, biting his lip in concentration.

 _‘Lee, can you hear me?’_ She hears Keith’s voice echo through her mind. She can’t stop the wide grin from stretching across her face.

 _‘Yes! You did it Keith!’_ She cheers, and Keith returns her wide grin. 

_‘This is so cool.’_ He says, and Lee feels a pleased warmth within her at Keith’s, not only acceptance of this, but his enthusiasm for it. 

“Okay, now that we’ve got that figured out, time to go save our leader.” Lee says, speaking out loud now, and Keith nods, the awe and excitement fading as they come back to reality. Lee moves her hands in front of her, concentrating as white energy flows out from her hands, forming into her white lion on the other side. She closes her eyes, pushing herself down the connection until she opens her eyes and sees Keith standing with her body back on the other side. 

_‘Can you still hear me Keith?’_ She asks, and she can see him nod on the other side.

 _‘Yeah I hear you.’_ He answers, and she turns, ready to set out and find Shiro. _‘Be careful Lee.’_

She begins running, her massive form practically flying over the ground as her four legs eat up the distance beneath her. As she’s running, Keith’s frantic voice rung through her mind.

 _‘Lee, Shiro says the creatures have started trying to dig in to get to him, you’ve gotta hurry up. I got myself and your body across the chasm, but it’ll still take a while for me to be able to fly both of us to Shiro.’_ Keith says, and Lee cuts him off before he can say anymore.

 _‘I’m almost there, tell Shiro to just hang on a little longer.’_ She pushes herself, moving even quicker than before. Then, she suddenly sees another cliffside appear, and digs her claws into the ground skidding to a halt. She looks down into the chasm, seeing the Black Lion crashed down at the bottom, and seeing some creatures gathered around trying to dig into what must be the cave Shiro is hiding out in. As she is looking, she realizes that the massive size of the lion is now to her disadvantage as she isn’t sure she’ll even fit down there, let alone be able to maneuver around in order to protect Shiro.

As she is thinking about this, and wishing she could be a little smaller, she realizes that the ground is suddenly getting closer. She looks around herself and sees white energy drifting off her form, shrinking down to a third of the size she was before. Now smaller and able to maneuver, she stalks down into the chasm. As she gets to the bottom, she sees a few of the creatures heads turn in her direction. She lets out a low, deep growl, and they snarl back at her. 

When she still comes closer, all the creatures turn their full attention to her, snarling and getting into defensive positions. Lee doesn’t stop, only prowls closer and closer, until when she is about 10 feet away one of them leaps for her. She grabs the back of its neck in her mouth, using her grip to send it flying into a cliff wall. The others snarl louder, and Lee stands to her full height, taking a deep breath in before releasing a loud roar. The creatures freeze, before turning and running off. 

Once they’re all out of view, Lee walks over to the opening they were trying to create into the cave. She extends her large paw in, swiping out a massive amount of rocks. She then leans her head down into the now wide opening, and gives the best approximation of a smile she can manage with her lion face. She sees Shiro leaning against the cave wall, and he gives a relieved sigh at her appearance. 

_‘I found Shiro.’_ She lets Keith know, and she can practically feel the relief he lets off.

 _‘And is he okay?’_ He asks. Lee takes another look in at the black paladin, who is taking the opportunity to calm down, leaning his head back against the wall. She sees him grimace, looking down to see his hand holding his side. She can just barely see part of the wound, but she can’t tell how serious it is from there.

 _‘Well he’s alive. I managed to chase off the creatures before they got to him, but he still looks like he may be in rough shape.’_ She replies, worried about how even the slightest move seems to hurt Shiro. She definitely wants to get a closer look at the wound, and try to heal it, but she can’t do that until she can get back into her body.

 _‘Okay. I’m almost there.’_ He says, and she can see Shiro nod, realizing that Keith must’ve said that over the coms to let Shiro know as well. 

Suddenly, Lee feels a weight on her back, and a sharp pain. She whips around, able to catch a glimpse of one of the creatures clamped onto her back, biting at her. She is unable to reach the creature on her back, so she turns in a quick circle, bucking to throw it off. She hears Shiro cries out, and spins back around to see him get dragged out of the cave and flung by another of the creatures. 

She moves to help him, but is attacked by two more of the creatures. They keep biting at her legs to trip her up, or jumping on her back, and they are quick. This is only the second time she’s been in this form and this is their home turf, so they definitely have the advantage. She tries to keep a close eyes on Shiro, as he takes down one of the creatures, but then another one knocks him down a small rise, and she gets angry. She came to protect him, and she won’t let these stupid creatures hurt him, or keep her from protecting him. She bunches her hind legs, leaping up and over the ones she was fighting. 

She sees Shiro sprawled out on the ground and she leaps down to him. She crouches in front of him, placing herself between the creatures and him. She snarls, enraged, and the creatures pause at the top of the rise. 

_‘Lee? What’s happening?’_ Keith asks frantically, and then Lee notices Shiro’s helmet near her. Realizing that Keith probably has no idea what is going on, and is likely freaking out, she quickly replies.

 _‘The creatures came back and attacked us. They managed to distract me and drag Shiro out of the cave. I’m back now with him, but they seem really determined to get him.’_ She informs Keith, snarling again when she sees one make as if to come down towards them.

“Uhh, Lee?” She hears Shiro say, and turns to look at him. He has stood up, and now he backs into her side, as more of the creatures have appeared around the back of them. Realizing they are being surrounded, Lee knows she won’t be able to protect Shiro like this. Leaning down she bites the back of the paladin’s suit, getting a firm grip on it. She straightens from her crouch, then races away, dodging the creatures that had been trying to close them in. She hears Shiro cry out, but she has to focus on avoiding the creatures coming after them. 

She doesn’t know what to do; she can’t put Shiro down because then the creatures will go after him and she won’t be able to protect him from all of them, but if she just keeps running they’ll only keep chasing. Or, she’ll run into a dead end. She skids to a stop, cornered now. She sets Shiro down gently, nudging him right back against the cliff walls, then turns to face the creatures. 

_‘Keith, Shiro and I are in a bit of a tight situation here.’_ Lee tells him, looking around at the creatures which stand all around her. She roars, but this time they don’t even flinch.

 _‘I’ll be right there Lee, I’ve got you, just buy me one more minute.’_ Keith pleads. Lee sends out a blast of white energy, knocking a few of the creatures away and clearing a space. She turns, once again grabbing Shiro by the back of his uniform, and runs through the opening. The creatures surround them again, this time in the middle of the chasm. With creatures on all sides, Lee is continuously turning, trying to keep an eye on all of them.

One of them leaps for Shiro hanging from her mouth, and she rears back, drawing Shiro out of range, while she swats it out of the air and knocks it into another one. As she drops back down to all fours she hears one growl from behind her. From the corner of her eye she sees it leap for her back, but is unable to do anything to protect herself, when suddenly a massive paw lands on the creature, slamming it into the ground. She looks up to see the Black Lion standing there. It fights off more of the creatures, before standing over the two of them. 

Lee crouches slightly, in order to fit under the Black Lion’s underbelly, and it lets out a loud roar, sending the remaining creatures running. Seeing as now it’s finally safe, Lee lowers Shiro to the ground before closing her eyes, and going back to her body. She blinks her eyes open to see the inside of the Black Lion, with Keith sitting in the passenger seat.

“Keith!” She exclaims, causing the boy to turn down to look at her.

“Lee.” He says, standing up from the chair. She stands as well, and they wrap their arms around each other. 

“You showed up just in time. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t shown up when you did.” She murmurs, pressing her face to his neck. He removes one hand from around her waist to take off his helmet, then presses his lips to the side of her head. 

“Hey, I told you I’d be here, didn’t I?” He asks, and she huffs out a laugh. 

“Yeah you did.” Lee says, and the two stand there, holding each other close a few moment longer. Suddenly, Lee gasps, pulling backwards and staring wide eyed at Keith. “Shiro!” 

 

After they collect Shiro, they bring the Black and Red Lions together, starting a fire as it is beginning to get dark. Keith and Shiro lean up against a rock, but Lee remains standing, fidgeting nervously as she stands to the side of Shiro. 

He looks up at the girl, his brows furrowing in worry. “Lee? What’s wrong?”

“Shiro, I-…I’m sorry. I didn’t do a very good job of protecting you down there. If it wasn’t for Keith showing up when he did then-…” Shiro cuts her off before she can get any further. 

“Hey, hey, hey, what are you talking about? If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t have even lasted until Keith showed up. You guys both saved me.” He says. Lee finally looks at him, and he gives her a smile, which she returns. 

“Of course we did.” Lee says, and Keith jumps in, speaking up as well.

“Yeah, you would do the same.” He says, and they all soak in the warm moment for a minute. Lee is reluctant to break it, but there are still some important things to take care of.

“Besides, you aren’t completely out of the woods yet.” She says, and steps over between the two of them. She kneels down to get a closer look at Shiro’s injury. “What made this wound?”

“It was Haggar.” Shiro informs her, and she nods, serious look on her face. 

“Okay. I’ll have to be careful then.” She says.

“Because she’s a Druid?” Keith asks, and Lee turns to him in surprise, a grin appearing as she nods.

“Yeah exactly. There is still traces of her magic in the wound, like an infection. So first, I have to use my magic to burn hers out, and then I can focus on actually healing the wound.” Lee explains, and the two paladins nod in understanding. “May I?”

She asks Shiro, who nods in permission. A soft white light appears, and she lowers her hand to his wound. As her hand touches the wound, the white light spreads to cover the glowing purple. The white steadily glows brighter, the purple glow disappearing beneath the brilliance of the pure white. The white flashes with intensity, then slowly fades to the soft white once again, with no trace of the purple glow on the wound. After a minute or so, the light fades, and Lee removes her hand. She looks closely, and sees that other than a minor scratch, the wound appears to be healed. She looks up at Shiro, and smiles at him.

“So? How’s it feel?” She asks, and Shiro shifts around a little, before grinning back at her.

“Much better. Thank you Lee.” He replies, and she shakes her head.

“No need to thank me.” She says. She then turns to look at Keith, who holds his arm out to her. She shuffles back towards him, tucking herself against his side. He wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close. After Lee is settled she looks up and sees Shiro giving them a warm smile. She blushes, sort of embarrassed at being so affectionate in front of another person. But when she leans her head against Keith and feels him drop a kiss to the crown of her head, she decides she doesn’t care about a little embarrassment if it means she gets to be like this with Keith.

They’re all sitting quietly watching the fire when suddenly they hear a noise. They look to the sky only to see a portal open, and the Green Lion come flying through. They all jump to their feet, relief and excitement coursing through them. Lee looks over to Keith, only to find him already looking at her. They smile, and reach out, grabbing hands and entwining their fingers. They look back up to see the Green Lion coming down, and are happy to know that they are finally safe and will be reunited with the rest of their team.


	2. Episode 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So since this episode takes place with Hunk and Lance, this chapter is almost sort of a behind the scenes part. It's just cute fluff between Lee and Keith, that takes place after they rescued, and before Lance and Hunk are found.

After being rescued by the Green Lion and brought back to the Castle of Lions, Lee, Keith and Shiro discover that Lance and Hunk are still missing. They are relieved that Pidge, Allura, and Coran are okay, but still worried and concerned over the whereabouts of the Blue and Yellow paladins. But with the castle scanning for their signatures, there isn’t anything else they can do at the moment. Shiro goes into the healing pod to fix up the last of his injury, and make sure there isn’t anything else going on. Pidge has returned to the control room with Coran and Allura, and Keith and Lee head to their respective rooms in order to clean up. 

After showering and brushing her hair, Lee changes into her comfy clothes; a black tank top and baggy white pants. She pulls her hair up into a pony tail, not wanting to put in the effort to braid it, but since it was still damp she didn’t want to leave it hanging loose. Being cleaned up, she felt a lot better, but she couldn’t fully relax yet. A lot had happened in a short time, without a minute to process. 

Lee looked down at her hands, studying them. Her powers had grown so much since waking up and meeting the paladins. And she had grown a lot too, she was stronger now. She blushed as she thought of something else that had grown. Her relationship with Keith had grown significantly. She’d never felt so close to a person in so short a time. She felt a warmth in her chest as she thought of Keith, but at the same time she was feeling unsure. They hadn’t really formally defined their relationship; they had been affectionate, had kissed, made promises to stay together, but were they dating? Lee didn’t know, and the uncertainty was driving her nuts. With that thought, Lee stood up, resolving to figure it out right now. She left her room and headed straight for Keith’s, knocking on the door.

She stood for a minute, nervously shuffling, and wondering if maybe Keith had left his room and gone somewhere else. But then his door whooshes open and Keith appears standing in the doorway. He looks slightly flushed, and there is a towel wrapped around his neck. Lee blushes lightly as she realizes that he had probably just got out of the shower. She looks down and sees that he is shirtless, and her slight blush blooms into an intense red that takes over her whole face. Her gaze darts up to his face, and she sees a blush begin to spread across his own face.

“Uh Lee, hey, umm come in. Sorry, let me just- I just need to-…” Keith stammers, stepping back into his room. Lee follows him inside, hovering just inside the door as he goes and grabs a black t-shirt, pulling it on. He ruffles his hair with the towel, quickly trying to dry it. It fluffs his hair up, leaving part of it standing up and Lee giggles at the sight. Keith looks up to her, and she quickly bites her lip to stop the sound, dropping her gaze to the floor. She continues to stare at the floor, fidgeting, and so misses the concerned look Keith gives her. 

She hears him walk closer, and stop in front of her. He reaches out, grasping one of her hands and entwining their fingers. He tugs lightly on her hand, guiding her towards his bed. He sits down, pulling her down beside him. Lee continues to avoid his gaze, and he squeezes her hand reassuringly.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Keith asks her, and Lee can’t ignore the concern in his voice. She had come here to talk to him, and as embarrassing as it felt, she really wanted to figure out what their relationship was. She looks up at him, smiling as she sees the worry on his face. 

“Nothing, really.” She says, squeezing his hand back to show him that she really is okay. He raises an eyebrow at her, but nods, now smiling back.

“Okay, so then what brought you over here? I mean, you’re always welcome to come over, but it looked like you had something on your mind.” Lee can’t stop her smile from widening or the flutter in her chest at Keith’s slightly awkward but concerned questioning. 

“I did- or I do, still. I was just thinking about how- I mean, we never actually said what we are.” Lee says, but she can the slight confusion in Keith’s eyes and realizes he isn’t getting it. She gathers herself for a second, before deciding to just straight out ask. “What’s our relationship?”

Keith’s eyes widen as she blurts out her question, and she determinedly holds his gaze, even as she feels her cheeks burn in embarrassment. Keith blinks rapidly, before shifting on the bed, turning to face her more. He tightens his grip on her hand, taking a deep breath, while Lee waits anxiously.

“Lee, will you be my girlfriend?” Keith asks, and though he seems calm and assured, she can feel the sweat forming on his palm, and the slightest tremor in his hand.

“Yes.” Lee says, grinning brightly and Keith returns it, the two taking a moment to just revel in the warmth of happiness and affection in their chests. 

With his free hand Keith reaches out to cup her cheek, guiding her forward as he leans in. Their lips meet, and the kiss starts out gentle, soft, but then gets more intense. Their lips move more fiercely against one another, and Lee wraps her hand around his neck, her fingers playing with the still damp hair at his nape. 

As the two break apart to catch their breath, suddenly Lee feels a massive yawn, turning her head to the side as her jaw practically cracks with the force of it. When she turns back to face Keith, who is struggling to keep a straight face. She sheepishly smiles, and he can no longer hold back the laughter.

“I feel like maybe I should be offended.” He says, but his wide grin reveals the teasing behind his statement. Lee giggles, the mood now broken, and leans forward. She buries her face into the junction of his shoulder and neck. She turns her head slightly so that her words won’t be muffled.

“I’m just tired.” She says, and she feels Keith nod. Wrapping one arm around her waist, Keith leans backward, pulling her with him. They shift around a bit, until they settle in. Keith is lying on his back, with his head on the pillow. Lee is pressed flush to his side, her head on his shoulder as he has his arm around her. Their other hands are linked, resting on Keith’s stomach. With the arm that’s wrapped around her. Keith plays with Lee’s ponytail, running his fingers through her hair. He turns, pressing a kiss to her forehead, and Lee nuzzles in closer. The two lay in a peaceful quiet, feeling calm and relaxed at being in each other’s presence, until finally both fall asleep.


	3. Episode 3

After Keith and Lee woke up they ventured out to find that Pidge had retrieved their last two members. They all reunited before moving to hang around in the healing room, as Shiro was still in the pod. As they watched, his brows furrowed, and he seemed to be in distress. Hunk pointed out that it seemed as if Shiro was having a bad dream.

“He just got blasted by a space witch, and mauled by giant lizards. What dream could be worse than that?” Keith asks, and Lee gently squeezes his hand. They had been holding hands when they left his room earlier, and had yet to let go of one another since. She knows it is hard for him, seeing Shiro like this, it’s hard for all of them. They are used to Shiro being the strong one, their brave leader, and to see him in a healing pod being plagued by his own mind feels wrong.

 _‘He’ll be okay.’_ Keith jolts when he hears Lee’s voice, before quickly realizing she was speaking to him telepathically. He looks to his side to see her smiling softly at him.

 _‘I know, it’s just-…'_ Here he breaks off, looking back towards Shiro in the pod. Lee patiently waits for him to finish his thought, studying the side of his face. _‘I’m tired of seeing people go in those pods, and not being able to help.’_

 _‘You do help. We could’ve all been in there way more often if not for you; I know there are definitely times when you’ve saved me.’_ Lee pulls on his hand, forcing him to look at her. _‘It’s not up to you to protect everyone all the time. We’re a team.’_

Keith’s brow furrows, and he turns away. Lee sighs, but decides to drop it for now. Then their attention is grabbed as they see Shiro is about to wake up. They move closer, crowding around Shiro’s pod with the rest of the paladins.

When he wakes up he tells them what he remembers of his dream, and has Pidge scan for the coordinates. She can’t find anything though, and they begin to question his memory. Lee is standing between Keith and Allura, waiting and watching with the rest of them, when Allura says that you can’t trust the Galra.

“Your father must have trusted them once. Zarkon was the original Black Paladin, wasn’t he?” Shiro asks, and Allura’s eyes widen, surprised that he had figured it out. Meanwhile, Lee closes her eyes, having known that the truth about this would come out eventually, it didn’t make the lingering feelings of betrayal, hurt, and anger any less powerful.

“That was a long time ago.” Allura says, turning away from Shiro’s gaze. Lee is looking down, refusing to lift her head and risk meeting what she’s sure must be judgemental looks coming from the paladins.

“Wait what?” Lance asks, and Lee feels Keith’s hand tighten around hers as he speaks up.

“Didn’t you see how he stole the Black Lion out from under Shiro? Or that he could do all that cool stuff with his bayard? Shiro’s bayard, you know, the black one.” Keith says, and Lee clenches her opposite hand into a fist, still staying quiet.

“Why didn’t you just tell us the truth about Zarkon?” Shiro asks, and Lee glances slightly to the side, seeing that Allura also can’t meet anyone’s eyes.

“I wanted to protect you from the dark history of the paladins. So that you would have a chance to bond with your lions on your own. You are the Black Paladin now, not Zarkon.” Allura says, now meeting Shiro’s gaze. This time, it is he who looks away. 

“Yeah well the Black Lion may have a different opinion on the matter.” Shiro says.

“Hey, Lee? Allura said why she never told us the truth about Zarkon, but why didn’t you tell us?” Hunk asks, and Lee bites her lip, her hand clenching tighter and driving her nails into her own palm. The sting of pain enables her to gather herself enough to talk.

“Do you think it’s easy? Do you think it’s easy to tell people you’ve just met that the most evil person in the universe, is someone that you used to trust? You guys are paladins, how were we supposed to tell you that one of the paladins who came before you is now the enemy you have to defeat? Zarkon used to be a hero, and we used to know him personally. Then he betrayed us, and it **hurt** , and we wake up only to find he destroyed our planet, and killed our people. And it makes me angry, because I shouldn’t care anymore about him, and I don’t care about this Zarkon, I just want him gone. But I can still remember the old Zarkon. The Black Paladin, the leader of Voltron. I used to train with the old paladins, I considered them, considered him a friend, practically family. How was I supposed to just casually bring that up?” Silence falls, as everyone is stunned at Lee’s outburst. None of them have any idea what to say next, and so Pidge, happening to catch a glance at her screen, decides to change the subject.

“I think I see it now, some repeating numbers in all this Galra code. Let me extract it.” Pidge says, and everyone turns their attention to the screen, the intense feeling in the room fading as they focus on what’s next. Lee feels relieved that they are moving on for now, and takes the opportunity to rein her emotions back in. “They are coordinates! They lead here, the Thaldicon system.”

“Then that’s where were headed.” Shiro states.

“Shiro, are you sure you can trust this? I mean, after all the Galra have done to you, they-they took your arm.” Keith asks, and Lee looks over, seeing the concern on his face. 

“It’s worth the risk. Someone helped me escape. If we can locate some allies in our fight against Zarkon, especially from his own side, we might just find a way to take him down.” Shiro points out.

“We can check the location, but I do not like this. The Galra are not to be trusted.” Allura says. Lee looks up to her best friend, and seeing the anger in her face decides now isn’t the time to fight Allura on this. She has been hurt by the Galra too, and she is angry as well, but Allura blames the Galra as a whole, as if the entire species is evil just because Zarkon is. Lee doesn’t believe its right to think that all the Galra are like Zarkon, as each one is still an individual. She knows sooner or later she will have to talk to Allura about this, but for now she feels emotionally drained after her outburst.

They all move to the control room, teleporting to the coordinates. Lee only half listens to the conversation, the other half concentrating on centering herself, trying to calm the chaotic emotions raging inside her. Her attention is quickly brought back to what is happening when she hears the alarm start going off. Allura pulls up screens showing the inside of the castle, Lee moving up close behind her to see them as well. 

“There he is, level five!” Allura points out, and Lee looks to the screen, seeing a figure run through the hall.

“All right everyone, suit up.” Shiro says. The paladins all run off to get into their armour, while Lee races to her room to get changed. She puts on her suit, and puts the com in her ear, quickly braiding her hair as she runs towards where the intruder was last seen. Lee listens to the paladins fight the intruder, failing to stop him. As she hears Keith going after him she is getting closer to the action. Lee rounds a corner, arriving at the scene just as Keith has crossed blades with the intruder. Keith’s blade is knocked away, and he runs in with his fists. Sensing that it isn’t going to work, Lee starts to run in as well, forming her baton. 

The intruder sends Pidge flying into Keith, and both go skidding across the floor. Lee leaps over the two, moving in to engage the intruder. She swings her baton, and is blocked by his blade. He pushes hard against her, and she jumps backwards, getting some distance. 

Keith stands up, running back in, but is thrown into Lance and Hunk, all three of them going down. The intruder then turns his attention back to Lee.

She flicks her wrist, her whip unfurling to coil beside her. The intruder hesitates, and Lee quickly swings her whip forwards at the man. He raises his blade, whip wrapping around it multiple times. Lee then darts forward, yanking hard on her whip. She pulls the intruder’s blade forward and down, forcing his arms to extend, and even pulling him forward slightly.

Now that his arms are extended out in front of him, Lee jumps up, and planting one foot on his wrists, she swings her other leg up and around, kicking the intruder in the side of the head. As he is knocked to the side Lee flips backwards, landing on the ground. She uncoils her whip from the blade, bringing it back to her. As she lands she looks up, seeing Shiro. The intruder looks up after recovering from his stumble, spotting Shiro as well. The two strike at each other, and Shiro has his hand at the intruder’s throat. The two pause, and then the intruder steps back, lowering their hood and revealing their face.

“Ulaz?” Shiro asks, as a Galra is revealed to be the intruder. Allura then rushes in, shoving him against the wall.

“Who are you?” She demands, and Shiro steps forward, arms up in a placating gesture.

“Stop. It’s him. This is the Galra who set me free.” Shiro explains, and Lee forms her whip back into her baton, then into her necklace. She trusts Shiro, and though she will remain cautious, she doesn’t have a bad feeling about Ulaz.

“You’ve come.” Ulaz says.

 

They bring him to the lounge room, cuffs around his wrists and ankles. 

“I don’t think this is necessary.” Shiro says, and Lee can’t help but agree. He hasn’t resisted them at all since Shiro had shown up, but Allura had insisted on the restraints. 

“I will not have some quiznaking Galra soldier on the bridge of my ship.” Allura exclaims.

“If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead already.” Ulaz says, and Lee rolls her eyes towards the ceiling as she knows this statement won’t go over well with Allura.

“Are your Galra threats supposed to win my trust?” Allura asks. Lee shakes her head slightly, before looking back towards Ulaz as he begins to speak.

“I’m not trying to win your trust; I’m trying to win a war. And because of Shiro we are closer than we’ve ever been. Our gamble on you paid off better than we could have ever imagined.” Ulaz says.

“When you released me, you also mentioned that there were others working with you.” Shiro mentions, and Lee, curious, turns her full attention to his response.

“Yes. We are called the Blade of Marmora.” Ulaz explains. As the others continue to question him, Lee begins to think. If there were others like Ulaz, other Galra who opposed Zarkon, then that would prove that not all Galra were like Zarkon. And if they were hidden within Zarkon’s ranks, then they could deal a devastating blow to his empire.

As all the other paladins are questioning Shiro and his memories, Lee glances over towards Ulaz. They meet eyes, and as she looks at him, she doesn’t get any sort of bad feeling. Unlike when they met Rolo and Nyma, she isn’t suspicious of him; in fact, she gets the feeling that they can trust this Galra. And, since her instincts haven’t been wrong yet, she decides to speak up.

“I believe Shiro. And, I believe Ulaz. I think we should go for it.” Lee says, and Shiro sends her a grateful look. She smiles at him, before turning to meet Allura’s gaze. The two lock eyes, staying like that a moment before Allura closes her eyes briefly.

“Fine. Slow and steady Coran. Head for the Zanthorian cluster” Allura orders.

“Yes princess. Beginning approach.” They Coran say, and they all wait anxiously as the castle moves forward. “Impact imminent in 5, 4, 3, 2… Woah that’s something.”

“What is it?” Allura asks.

“Putting it up on the screens.” Coran tells them, and they all turn to look at the screen, only to see that they are going through what looks like some kind of portal. Pidge and Hunk talk about how they are folding space, and then a base appears on the screen. 

“Welcome to the Blade of Marmora communication base Thaldicon. Now if you’ll free me, I need to send a message to the leadership. They need to know I’ve made contact with Voltron.” Ulaz says.

“Go with him. And keep an eye on him. I’m staying here.” Allura orders.

“Ooh, can we go?” Hunk asks.

“I wanna see how they make the space pocket.” Pidge begs.

“You guys go ahead. I’ll hang back and protect the princess.” Lance says. Allura sighs, and Lee has to fight to hide her grin.

Lee decides to head down to the base with Keith, Shiro, Hunk, Pidge and Ulaz. They take the Red Lion, and as they head down to the base Ulaz explains some about the technology they use. As they get onto the base Ulaz tells them about how they have agents on the inside, hidden within Zarkon’s ranks, and that that is how they were able to escape when they rescued Allura. When he says this, Lee quickly looks towards Keith, the two of them exchanging wide eyed looks, as they had both wondered what had caused the barrier to fall and enable their escape.

“What’s that weapon you carry?” Keith asks, and Lee first looks towards him at hearing the hesitance in his voice, before turning her gaze to the blade as Ulaz holds it out.

“It’s a ceremonial blade that each member of our organization carries.” Ulaz explains.

“Hmm, nice.” Keith says, and before anyone can ask any more questions, an alarm suddenly starts blaring. They look to the screen only to see something approaching. Ulaz says they were tracked, but Keith says that it must’ve been Ulaz who ratted them out. It turns out to be another Ro-beast. Before they head off to go back to the ship, Ulaz gives Shiro directions on how to find the Blade of Marmora headquarters, but urges them to find out how Zarkon is tracing them, lest they reveal the location of the headquarters to him.

 

The paladins wait in their lions, Allura, Coran and Lee in the control room, all of them anxiously watching as the Ro-beast is scanning for them. After sucking up some of the crystals and sending out an energy blast, the Ro-beast locks on, blasting straight into the pocket of space. They raise the particle barrier, as a barrage of lasers come through. The Ro-beast begins drawing in more crystals to ready another attack, but the castle is being sucked along too. 

The paladins form Voltron, flying out of the space pocket and punching the beast, knocking its shot up and away. The space pocket fails, exposing the castle and base to the Ro-beasts view. They see a small ship take off in the distance as Voltron continues to fight. Lee can only watch anxiously as the Ro-beast tries to pull Voltron in. The first time, Keith is able to rescue them, but the second time, as it looks like they may be in trouble, the castle fires a laser, knocking the two apart.

As the Ro-beast turns its attention to the castle, Voltron shoves its shield in its mouth, blocking its beam. They decide to use the crystals to attack the beast, shoving it into a giant cluster of crystals and recalling their shield. The crystals blow up, and they all grin, thinking they had it defeated. But then, another beam comes out of the explosion straight at Voltron. They block with their shield, but it breaks under the onslaught.

Ulaz suddenly comes back, flying straight into the Ro-beast’s mouth. It comes at Voltron again, but then pauses, and begins contorting. Pidge yells that Ulaz is opening the space pocket inside the creature, which folds in on itself, before disappearing with a flash of light.

After the battle, Keith goes to talk with Shiro, and Lee decides to tag along. Keith apologizes for not believing in Ulaz, while Shiro says that he still had so many questions. 

“Do you think Zarkon is really tracking us?” Keith asks, and Lee bites her lip, worried over that possibility as well. 

“There is no way to know for sure.” Allura says, entering the room. “Only Ulaz knew our whereabouts.”

“You don’t really think Ulaz gave us up; after sacrificing himself?” Shiro asks, and they all turn to face Allura.

“Yeah! Maybe Zarkon found out about this place on his own! He’s probably been searching for the Blade of Marmora.” Keith exclaims, but Lee can see by the look on Allura’s face that their arguments aren’t getting through to her at all. When Allura becomes fixated on an idea she can be incredibly stubborn.

“It’s clear the loss of Ulaz has caused you great concern. But regardless of how Zarkon found us, we cannot stay here any longer. It isn’t safe.” Allura says.

“We should meet up with the rest of Ulaz’s group. Finish what we started.” Keith suggests.

“No. We’re not going to the headquarters until we find out how Zarkon found us. We can’t risk losing the only allies we have in this war.” Shiro states.

 

As Lee and Keith head back to their rooms, they pause outside Lee’s door. Keith shuffles awkwardly, before looking up to meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I know that when you get bad feelings it usually means something bad is going to happen, and you would’ve said something if you thought there was something off about Ulaz. I guess I just-…” He trails off, glancing away, and Lee feels a wry smile twist her lips.

“You just were thrown off by the fact that I knew Zarkon and didn’t tell you?” She asks sarcastically, and Keith doesn’t respond. “I know I should’ve, but like I said, I didn’t know how to.”

“No, Lee, it’s not that. It’s not like you have to tell me everything about you. Remember, you’re entitled to your own secrets. It’s just that, so far you haven’t been wrong when you’ve had bad feelings about people, and to know that at one point you genuinely trusted Zarkon, I was afraid. I started to wonder if we can really afford to trust anyone, or if we have to be constantly suspicious of everyone so we’re never caught off guard. But now I realize that we can be cautious, and still trust people.” Keith explains, and Lee smiles at him. 

“So we’re good then?” She asked, and Keith grinned at her.

“Of course.” He says, then leans in, kissing her gently. They keep this kiss short and chaste. After they separate, Keith heads for his room. Lee remains outside of hers, waving to Keith as he goes into his room. She stares at the closed door for a few moments, her brows furrowing in concern as she heads into her own room.


	4. Episode 4

After watching Keith’s door close behind him, Lee turns and enters her own room. She gets ready for bed on autopilot, too many thoughts flying through her mind for her to even concentrate on one. Her mind doesn’t slow, as she lays tossing and turning in her bed for hours. Eventually, she is able to get a few fitful hours of sleep, but after waking up for the thousandth time, she gives up on getting anymore rest. She redresses in her white suit, heading for the training deck. 

When she gets there, she decides to practice using her power more. She moves to the side of the training room, sitting down and closing her eyes. She forms her lion, focusing on making it smaller, she scales it down until its shoulders are at the same height as her head is where she is sitting down. 

“Start training level one.” She says, and she can hear the gladiator enter the room. She then sends her consciousness down the connection as she opens her eyes as the lion. She immediately locks her gaze on the gladiator, prowling out towards it. Once she gets close the gladiator swings at her, and she dodges to the side, racing around to its back. Instead of turning to face her though, it moves off towards her motionless body. She immediately launches herself at its back, clamping her jaws on its neck she tears at it, and the gladiator shudders, dropping to the ground. She leaps off of it, moving back towards the center of the arena. 

She pops back to her body just long enough to start the second level, keeping her lion formed. As she attacks this one, she notices the same thing. While it’ll attack her lion form when she is coming after it, if she gives it any sort of space or reprieve it’ll try to go after her body. As she continues going through levels the pattern continues, and she is finding it harder to both defend her body and keep up her attack. Eventually, one of the gladiators manages to throw her lion form across the floor, and moves swiftly towards her body. Lee has to quickly move her consciousness back to her body. Her eyes open, seeing the gladiator just feet away she quickly yells for the simulation to end. The gladiator stops, and Lee thumps her head back against the wall behind her, a frustrated sigh escaping her.

_‘I’ll never be able to truly help Voltron if I’m constantly having to defend my body from any enemy we fight. If it weren’t for Keith going out and bringing my body to the Red Lion, then who knows what could’ve happened. And I’m no help if I’m stuck inside the Castle while Voltron is out fighting. I have to figure something out; I don’t want anyone else to die if there is something I could’ve done. Ulaz may not have needed to sacrifice himself if I had been able to help. I can’t quit trying.’_

Lee is abruptly hit with an idea, and she forms her lion once again. She enters it, and once she has entered her lion form, she turns her attention to the connection back to her body. This time, she tries to pull on that connection; instead of pulling her energy from her lion form back into her physical body, she reverses it, this time trying to draw her body into her lion form. She gets resistance, nothing happening at first. She pulls harder, but then she feels a tearing feeling deep inside her. She gasps, a spike of pure fear rushing through her. She quickly flings herself back into her body, her lion form shattering with an explosion of white light.

Lee pants, feeling her heart slamming against her chest. She can’t hold back a shiver as she feels a chill run down her spine, and her arms wrap around herself, fingers holding the fabric of her suit in a death grip. She chokes down a sob threatening to escape her throat and struggles to prevent tears from escaping. This is the first time in her life where she has been truly afraid of her power. She’s always known she could do damage with her powers, and known that she could one day push herself too far, but she had never felt danger from her own powers before. 

And yet, when she felt that tearing feeling inside her, she felt such an intense fear; more than when she was face to face with Zarkon, more than any other time she can remember in her life. 

Taking deep breaths, she begins to force herself to calm down. Once she had brought her breathing and heart rate back under her control, she continues to sit on the floor a few moments longer. She feels as if she has lost some measure of control, and she hates the feeling. She is hesitant to practice more with her powers though, still feeling unsettled. Instead, she starts the simulations again, fighting the gladiators without her powers. She loses track of time, until she hears that the paladins are going out to attempt repairs on the ship. She takes a minute to clean herself up somewhat, before moving to join Allura and Coran in the control room.

Lee is able to muster a smile as she watches and listens to the paladins have fun. She feels tired and achy, and still shaken from before, but she doesn’t want the others worrying about her, so she resolves to hide it from them as best she can.

 

When they get to Olkarian, before the paladins take off for the coordinates, Keith moves over to talk to Lee, who is hovering at the edge of the control room.

“Hey, you alright? You’re being kind of quiet.” He asks, and Lee smiles at him, though that doesn’t lessen the slight furrow in his brows. 

“I’m fine. A little tired, but, no need to worry.” She reassures, leaning forward to place a kiss at the corner of his lips. Although still not fully convinced, Keith decide to let it go.

“Alright. I know you like to learn about different planets and stuff, so do you want to come down and investigate those coordinates with us?” Keith offers, and Lee’s smile softens, becoming more genuine. 

“Yeah, okay.” She replies, nodding at him.

“Awesome.” Keith reaches out, grasping her hand and entwining their fingers. The two board the Red Lion, with Lee taking her place behind Keith’s chair, arms wrapped around the top of it. The Lions fly down towards the planet, heading towards the coordinates which lead them to a forest.

After Keith mentions how he likes the quiet of being out there, the Lions are hit, and brought down to the surface of the planet, within the forest. They meet the Olkari people, who explain their situation. Lee is content to just listen and observe, fascinated with the society they have built within the forest. Reiner takes them to the Olkari’s armory, and they all watch in awe as the Olkari form complex weapons from the nature around them.

Reiner hands out the interfaces for the paladins to attempt it as well. She offers one to Lee, but Lee refuses. The Olkari woman seems to study her for a moment, making Lee slightly uncomfortable, before she moves on. Pidge is able to create another one of the pod-suit contraptions. Lee hops in the one with Reiner, Shiro and Keith, and they travel to the edge of the city, where Reiner points out a possible entry point.

After they retreat to the base, they move to enter the Green Lion in order to sneak into the city undetected. Before they can leave, however, Reiner comes forward.

“Wait a moment paladins. If I may make a request?” She inquires, and Shiro nods.

“Of course, what is it?” He asks, and the Olkari woman turns to look at Lee.

“If you would be willing, I would like to ask for your help. Would you be willing to stay behind?” Lee is taken aback at being singled out, but she realizes that the paladins don’t really need her help to get in and rescue the king. However, still she hesitates, until she looks up into the Reiner’s eyes. She sees something knowing in her eyes that makes her decision for her.

“Of course. I’m happy to do whatever I can to help.” She answers, and the two are left standing and watching as the Green Lion rises into the air, before flying away.

Once the Green Lion is out of view, Reiner turns towards Lee. She seems to be studying the younger girl, who fidgets nervously.

“Come this way.” Reiner says, before moving to walk into the forest. Lee follows her, and they travel deeper into the forest, back towards the armory. Once they get there, Reiner moves to sit in the center of it, and Lee cautiously lowers herself down as well. Sensing that she won’t want any distractions, Lee reaches up to mute her com. She is nervous doing so, as she worries that the paladins may call for her assistance and she won’t hear, but Keith will be able to reach her telepathically should anything dire happen.

“You are afraid. From the moment you arrived I have been able to see that there is turmoil inside you. You hide it well; I suspect that only the Red paladin has been able to sense any of it, but you cannot hide it completely.” Lee sits stunned as the woman she had only just met has been able to see what she was trying so hard to hide from everyone. 

“I-I don’t-…” Lee stammers, but the Olkari holds up a placating hand, her expression gentle and compassionate. 

“It is alright. I do not wish to judge. Fear is not something to be ashamed of. However, I can see that you are afraid of yourself; of something within yourself. It is your power that you are afraid of, is it not?” Although it is phrased as a question, they both know that it is the truth. Lee decides to respond anyway. She feels relieved to be able to talk to someone about the whirl of emotions within her. And although she knows she could tell her friends, could tell Allura or Keith about what she was feeling, knows they wouldn’t judge, there is something freeing about being able to talk to a stranger, someone who doesn’t actually know her.

“I’ve always known that, with my power I would be able to do a lot. I could destroy things, could cause a lot of damage, could hurt people. But I’ve never been afraid of it before. And then, I was trying to push myself, push my power. I could feel it resisting, so I pushed harder and…” Lee trails off, shaking her head. Getting an encouraging look from Reiner, she continues. “I was scared. It was one of the worst feelings in the world, like I didn’t have control, like my power was turning against me and it was terrifying.”

Reiner lets Lee have a moment to collect herself, the girl taking one deep breath in to calm down, before looking up at the woman as she begins to speak.

“The Olkari have always been makers, engineers. With our hands we could create countless things. And while mostly we create technology, and toys, as you have seen we can also create weapons capable of great destruction. While it’s true we are capable of doing so, the Olkari are a peaceful people, and when given the choice, we choose not to. If you would never use your power to cause destruction, then you need not be afraid that you are capable of doing so. It is your power, and therefore your choice how you use it.” Although these are things that Lee objectively knows, to hear someone else say it is reassuring. She feels the storm within her settle into a calm. Although she still feels a flicker of nervousness and hesitance, for the most part she feels much better, and no longer afraid. Reiner’s words have struck a chord deep within her, and she knows she will remember the woman’s words for a long time.

“Thank you Reiner.” Lee says, gratitude shining through her voice. They exchange smiles, but then their peaceful moment is broken as Lee feels a thrill of unease run through her. Lee reaches up to unmute her com, hearing the paladins are on their way back. She turns to Reiner, face now serious.

“Time to get back; the paladins are on their way, and they have Lubos.” Lee says. The two of them hurry back to meet the paladins, arriving just as the Green Lion appears and touches down. Reiner steps forward as Lubos is brought forward, forced to kneel on the ground, while Lee hangs back, observing with a neutral expression on her face. As they explain what they have learned however, it gets harder to keep that look, as Lee gets angry.

Reiner too is angry that they were betrayed by their king, but the woman quickly urges the Olkari to take up arms and fight their enemy. As Voltron takes off, Lee decides to join the Olkari heading out to take back their city. On the way, she feels a disturbance in her mind. Looking in, she notices it is from the Green Lion, and when she goes closer she ca hear Reiner's voice speaking to Pidge. Piggybacking on Reiner's mental connection to Pidge through the Green Lion, Lee speaks to the Green Paladin.

_‘Pidge?’_ Pidge’s eyes widen as she hears another familiar voice.

_‘Lee is that you?’_ She asks.

_‘Yeah, Pidge. Listen, I can’t be there now, I’m about to help the Olkari retake the city. But you can trust Reiner, she knows what she’s talking about.’_ Lee tells her, and she can practically feel the younger girl’s hesitance.

_‘Lee, I don’t know if I can do this.’_ Pidge admits, and Lee feels a flutter of warmth at the trust the Green Paladin is showing her.

_‘I know you can Pidge. Just remember that the Green Lion is more than just an advanced ship. She’s more than just tech and machinery; she’s alive.’_ Lee speaks, and the conviction in her voice reassures the Green Paladin. Knowing that the rest is up to Pidge, Lee focuses on the attack they are about to lead. She looks to the Olkari on her left and right, exchanging nods with them. They are waiting on her cue to charge in, their weapons at the ready.

Then, she feels a spark, and she knows that Pidge was able to bond with her lion. Knowing that Pidge has the cubes handled, Lee leaps from the foliage, leading the attack with the Olkari pouring out of the forest behind her. They race in, taking out guards left and right. Lee has her baton out, alternatively using it, her whip, or her body to take them down. The Olkari are like a people possessed, rushing in fearlessly.

They are fierce, and the Galra don’t stand a chance against their weapons, and especially against their fierce anger. Soon, the Galra retreat in their ship, and the Olkari and Lee let out a loud victory cry.

After, they all gather back in the city. As soon as Keith exits his lion, Lee is there. She wraps her arms around his neck, his own going around her waist in a quick hug. They pull back, linking hands as they move to join everyone else. After Reiner speaks to Shiro and Pidge, she turns her attention to Lee. A warm smile is on her face as she notices Lee and Keith holding hands. As they move to leave, Lee hesitates. When Keith turns to her with a question on his face, she smiles at him.

“Just give me a minute. I want to say goodbye to Reiner. I’ll be right there.” She reassures, and Keith smiles, nodding, before releasing her hand and moving to enter Red. Lee turns, walking up to the Olkari woman. 

“Reiner, thank you for everything.” She says, and the older woman smiles, shaking her head slightly.

“There is no need to thank me. The Olkari owe you and the paladins much for your help, and a little advice is the least I could do.” Reiner replies.

“Still. You really helped me a lot.” Lee insists, and Reiner gets a contemplative look on her face. Seeming to come to a decision, the woman reaches out, cupping one of Lee’s hands between her own. 

“Then allow me to give you one more piece of advice. Do not try to force your power to do what it is not yet ready to do. I believe that when the time comes, you will be able to do what you must. And…” Here she leans forward, squeezing Lee’s hand slightly as a serious look takes over her face. “Do not push away those who want to be close to you. You are afraid to share all of yourself, in fear of being judged or rejected. But I have seen the way the two of you look at each other, and I can tell that the only way that boy would leave your side would be if he was trying to protect you.”

Lee blushes lightly as Reiner talks about her and Keith’s relationship. While she will definitely take the first part of Reiner’s advice, and won’t push her power, she decides to store the second part and think it over more, later. The two exchange goodbyes, and Lee joins Keith in Red. 

“Alright, let’s head back to the Castle.” Lee says, ducking her head to press a kiss to the side of Keith’s helmet before looping her arms around the back of his seat. She feels more content and calm than she has in a while, and feels infinitely glad that they were able to meet and help the Olkari people.

 

Later, they gather in the control room to talk about what happened on Olkarian. As Keith talks about everything being related, Lee feels a surge of affection in her chest. When everyone laughs at him, Keith crosses his arms and pouts slightly. Lee leans in, kissing him on the cheek, which knocks the surly look off. Coran shows off his cubes, and they all begin having fun, however, before any of them can fully relax, the screen flashes red, an alarm blares, and they see a Galra ship appear.


	5. Episode 5

After a brief fight against some of the fighter jets from Zarkon’s fleet, they are able to gain enough distance to wormhole away. However, as they escape through the wormhole, the screens are still red, and Coran tells them that there is a teludav malfunction which causes them to leave the wormhole before they were planning. Allura collapses from exhaustion, and as Lee looks around at the paladins, she can see that each and every one of them is also exhausted. She herself is feeling exceptionally drained, and more than anything wants a break to relax. Coran goes off to check the main turbine, and Lee has to hold back a laugh at his obvious denial of his Slipperies.

Shiro starts to try and get them to continue working, and Lee slumps down dejectedly along with the paladins. She sways to the side, leaning against Keith. His arm comes around her waist, and Lee closes her eyes briefly, tiredness almost overwhelming her. She perks up again slightly after Coran has explained what he needs to do with the teludav, as Shiro says that they will take a break for today, and continue to work tomorrow.

“So, I’m going to head for the pool. You want to come?” Keith asks, and Lee purses her lips, considering the offer. She thinks that it would be fun to go swimming with Keith sometime, but at the moment she feels too tired to even consider doing anything like physical activity.

“No, I’m okay. I think maybe I’ll head for the kitchen, find a snack. Then, I’m not sure, maybe take a nap.” She explains, and Keith nods, easily accepting, and agreeing with her decision. He cups the side of her face, his thumb reaching out and gently running under her eye. She is sure she probably has massive bags, can almost feel the exhaustion weighing her lids down.

“That’s a good idea. You should try and get some rest; you look exhausted.” Keith tells her. She nods, and he leans in, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He lingers there a second, and she relishes in the warmth and comfort that comes from his closeness. He then steps back, but hesitates before actually moving to go off. Lee knows he is still concerned, so she steps forward, putting her hands on his chest and giving him a gentle shove backwards. 

“Go on. Go have fun. I think I heard Hunk and Pidge were heading to the kitchen too; maybe I’ll see if Hunk would be willing to whip me up something.” She says, and that is enough to reassure Keith. He nods a final time, and they exchange one last smile before he turns, heading to his room to change, and then the pool. After he is out of sight Lee closes her eyes, moving to lean against the wall. All she wants is to sleep, but she doesn’t feel like she could fall asleep yet. She feels a flicker of anxiousness, guessing she is still on edge from the battle on Olkari and the sudden appearance of Zarkon’s ship. 

She pushes off from the wall, beginning to head for the kitchen. First, she will focus on getting something to eat. Then, she can start to think about what she wants to do next. She enters the kitchen just as Pidge is leaving. 

“Oh, hey Lee.” Pidge greets as she passes the taller girl, not pausing as she continues to wherever she is going.

“Hello Pidge.” Lee responds, grinning at the younger’s back as she marches off down the hall. Pidge is a force to be reckoned with when determined, unwilling to let anything get in her way. Lee really admires her strength and resolve, and she is glad that the Green Paladin isn’t feeling awkward in any way after Lee had spoken to her telepathically back on Olkarian. Perhaps it hadn’t sunk in yet fully, and Lee supposes she should explain more about that to the rest of the paladins sometime, but that can wait until later, when they aren’t all exhausted.

“Hi Hunk.” Lee says as she steps further into the kitchen. She moves towards the counter, hopping up onto it to sit down.

“Hey Lee. What’s up?” Hunk asks, and Lee looks around at all of the supplies strewn out across the rest of the counter.

“Just thought I might grab something to snack on. What are you making?” She asks, and Hunk gestures towards a pan with blue circles on it. Lee leans closer, trying to figure out what exactly they are.

“They were supposed to be cookies, but I think I overcooked them, because they’re hard as a rock.” Hunk sheepishly explains, one hand going to rub at the back of his neck. “But I’ve got more in the oven, so hopefully those will turn out better.”

Lee nods, content to just sit and watch Hunk bustle around the kitchen. There are quiet noises as he moves around and continues cooking, and he hums lightly under his breath. Lee feels calm and relaxed just sitting in the kitchen, listening to the Yellow Paladin. The calm atmosphere is shattered however as explosions rock the ship. Hunk drops his newest batch of cookies, and Lee quickly hops off the counter, grabbing onto it to brace herself as another blast knocks them around. The two of them race up to the control room, the other paladins getting there as well. 

As the paladins all take their seats, Lee moves to stand between Keith and Allura, her eyes on the scene in front of them. Coran admits that he has the Slipperies, and Pidge runs off to help the man. Keith and Lance are working together using the defense drones to shot down the fighter jets coming after them, when they suddenly lose power. 

Pidge and Coran are diverting power in order to be able to fire up the wormhole generator. Then, the particle barrier falls, and Lee knows that they are in trouble. She drops to the ground, placing her palms flat on the floor of the ship. Closing her eyes, she concentrates on drawing her power forward into her hands. Just like when she was pouring energy into the balmera to heal it, Lee does the same here. She pushes her power into the ship, guiding it towards powering back up the defense drones, and sending excess to the wormhole generator. She knows she doesn’t have enough power to be able to raise and sustain the particle barrier by herself, so she does what she can.

She can hear as Lance and Keith cheer when their drones come back online, going back to getting the Galra off their tails. Lee listens carefully, and as soon as they have made it through the wormhole she stops sending her energy through. She feels even more drained than before, but forces herself to concentrate on the problems at hand. She will have time to rest when their lives aren’t in imminent danger. She does, however, decide to remain on the floor for now. No sense in moving when she doesn’t have to.

Allura pilots them into the eye of a massive storm, hoping to hide them from however Zarkon is tracking them. But just as soon as they begin to think they may be okay, the castle picks up on the presence of Zarkon’s ship above them, outside the storm.

Fighters start to descend into the eyes, firing on the castle. Shiro outlines a plan, the paladins heading out to form Voltron and lead Zarkon away, while Coran has to get the wormhole generator working.

Lee and Allura watch as Voltron draws the fighters away, then, Zarkon’s ship moves as well. The two girls exchange a glance, and Lee nods firmly. Allura nods back, before piloting the ship up and out of the eye of the storm. Lee gasps, bad feeling pulsing. She checks the screens, before seeing something that makes her heart freeze.

“Allura look!” She exclaims, pointing to where the screen shows Voltron trapped, and being pulled towards Zarkon’s ship. “They’re in trouble, we have to do something!”

“What can we do, when we have hardly and power?” Allura questions, and Lee turns to her with a fierce look on her face.

“I can give you some power, but I don’t have a lot left, so you’re going to have to make it count.” Lee says, and Allura’s face hardens, a fierce determination taking over her as well. 

“Alright, let’s do it.” Allura says, and Lee nods. She kneels down, placing her hands on the floor. Drawing on her last reserves of power, she pushes everything she has left into the ship, sending it towards the lasers.

 _‘Now Allura!’_ She cries out to the other girl telepathically, and Allura fires on Zarkon’s ship. They free Voltron from Zarkon’s control, and the paladins form back into their lions, flying back to the castle. Lee crawls across the floor to Keith’s chair, leaning back against it. Lee is only able to listen as they discover that Hunk’s cookies can be used to help them wormhole away. The paladins are inside the wormhole generator, having to personally hold the disks in place. Lee wants to go down there, to be able to help, but she can’t get the energy to even stand up at the moment, so she has to trust that Coran won’t get any of them killed.

As Allura counts down, Lee can only hold her breath, hoping that this works. Allura hits one, and Lee slams her eyes closed, afraid of what she may see. She opens them a moment later, only to see them inside a portal. Allura darts over to Lee, reaching down and pulling her to her feet. 

“Lee, are you alright?” She asks, wrapping an arm around the girl’s back. Lee smiles tiredly, nodding.

“Yeah I’ll be okay. Let’s go down there.” Lee reassures, and though Allura isn’t fully convinced, the two move down to the wormhole generator. Allura keeps her arm around Lee, supporting her for a while, but after they leave the control room Lee shakes her off. “I’m fine, come on!”

Lee then runs forward, and the two race down to meet the paladins and Coran at the wormhole generator. When the wormhole generator door is opening, Allura congratulates the paladins, as they were able to get away. However, as the door fully opens they see that the paladins are looking a little fried. Lee leans against the side of the door, smiling as she sees that despite looking a little worse for wear, they are all safe, and were able to escape.

 

Later, after they’ve all had time to clean up some, there is a knock at Keith’s door.

“Hey Keith, do you have any idea where Lee is?” Lance’s voice comes through the door.

“Yeah, she was looking really tired earlier, and we wanted to make sure she was okay.” Hunk says. Though muffled through the door, the concern can still be heard as his voice carries into the room.

“We checked the training room and the kitchen already, and she isn’t in her room.” This time it is Pidge who speaks. There is still no response, or noise of any kind from inside the room, and the group gathered outside the room is staring to get concerned.

“Keith? Are you alright in there?” Shiro asks, stepping to the front of the group. With silence the only answer they receive, Shiro reaches out to the panel beside the door, opening it. He steps forward into the room, the others following him in. All of them are there; the other paladins and Allura and Coran. The lighting inside the room is dim, but brightens slightly as they enter. When Shiro looks around the room, his attention is drawn towards the bed, and he can’t fight the smile at what he sees. The others crowd around him, all staring at what they see before them.

“Awe, so cute.” Coran squeals slightly, Allura elbowing him lightly in the side.

“Coran, shh, stay quiet.” She hisses at the man, but she was thinking the same thing. 

“Well, we found Lee.” Pidge drawls.

In front of them, Lee and Keith are lying together, asleep. Keith is on his back, while Lee is half laying on him, the side of her face pressed into his chest. His arm is wrapped around her, hand resting spread out over her lower back. Lee’s hair is loose, falling to the side off her back, but Keith has a few strands wound through his fingers, as if he fell asleep while playing with it. Their legs are entwined, and Keith’s other arm hangs over the side of the bed. 

Shiro looks at Lee’s face, noticing that she looks more relaxed than he’s ever seen her before. He looks over to Keith’s face, only to freeze in shock. Keith’s eyes are open, and he glares towards the intruders in his room. He meets Shiro’s gaze, quickly flicking his eyes towards Lee lying on his chest, before looking back towards them, and then towards the door. Understanding what he is asking, Shiro nods, his smile growing as he sees the faintest hint of colour on Keith’s cheeks.

“Alright guys, time to go.” He whispers, and he gets some noises of protest, reaching out to begin physically turning the others around. “We found Lee, and she’s in good hands. We all know she needs rest, so let’s leave before we wake her up.”

Protests dying down as they acknowledge the truth in his words, they all file out the door. Shiro pauses before leaving, looking back to see Keith already watching him. The Red Paladin mouths “Thank you”, and Shiro leaves, door shutting behind him. 

Keith waits, listening as the group disbands, all of them heading for their own rooms. Once it is silent again, Keith looks down towards Lee. He lifts his free hand, gently running it down the side of her face. Lee barely stirs, deep into sleep, and he wraps this arm around her as well. He turns his face towards her, pressing his lips to the top of her head, as he drifts back to sleep as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have been wanting to do this scene where everyone walks in on Lee and Keith cuddling ever since I decided to do a relationship between them, and even though I wrote it, I still find myself awing at it, because it's just so cute!


	6. Episode 6

After they decide to head for the planet Taujeer the next day to take the fight to the Galra, they all head for their rooms to rest. Lee is concerned about Keith, as he is acting strange. She quickly gets changed before going back to Keith’s room. She knocks on the door, smiling when he opens it.

“Hey, mind if I sleep in here with you?” She asks, and Keith looks taken aback. Lee smiles sheepishly, continuing to speak. “I just, I sleep better next to you.”

Keith’s face softens as she says that, and he shifts to the side to let her in. While it’s true she can sleep easier and more restfully beside him, and she would like to sleep beside him, normally she wouldn’t want to just randomly show up so much, in case Keith doesn’t like it, or it’s presumptuous. But right now she is worried about Keith, and she wants him to know she is there for him.

She moves into the room, crawling onto his bed. She lays down, turning to face him and holds out her arms for him. He chuckles, shaking his head, moving to get into bed as well. He rolls over to face her, and she wraps her arms around his back, pulling him close to her, and he wraps his own around her as well. They share the pillow, faces barely a few inches apart, and their legs are entwined. Lee leans forward, brushing a kiss across each of his cheeks, then one on his forehead, then finally she pecks him on the tip of his nose, giggling lightly. Her eyes sparkle with happiness, and Keith feels his heart clench in his chest, his breath catch in his throat for a minute. Lee closes her eyes, falling asleep with a smile still on her face, and Keith shortly follows.

It isn’t too much later that Keith is shooting up in his bed, gasping for breath. He had nightmares; he saw Red turn on him, saw himself dressed in a Galra uniform, and worst of all he saw Lee staring at him with hurt, fear and betrayal, as he heard Zarkon’s voice saying that he could find him anywhere. Lee shifted beside him, half waking up.

“Keith? What’s the matter?” She asks sleepily, her eyes half open. Keith turns to her, putting his hand on the top of her head and softly stroking her hair. 

“Sorry, I’m okay, I didn’t mean to wake you.” He whispers, mustering a smile for her. Her brows furrow slightly as she looks up at his face.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” She murmurs, and Keith leans down kissing her lightly.

“I’m sure. Go back to sleep, okay?” He says, and she nods, closing her eyes. She quickly falls back to sleep, having never been more than half awake, and Keith lets out a relieved breath. He stays sitting on the bed a minute longer, just watching Lee sleep. He thinks about his plan, wondering if it is the best course of action, but as he remembers his nightmare he knows he doesn’t have any other choice. If he is the reason Zarkon keeps finding them, then he needs to know; he won’t risk putting the people he cares about in anymore danger because of him. 

When Lee wakes up in the morning it is to an empty bed, with no sign of Keith. She sits up, looking around the room. She feels her stomach sink, and she rushes to her room to get changed. She runs to the control room, finding Coran in there, but no Allura, and no Keith.

“Coran, have you seen Keith anywhere?” She asks, and the man turns to her, shaking his head.

“No, sorry. I haven’t seen the princess yet either.” Coran says, and Lee frowns. Before they can continue their conversation, the doors are whooshing open. Lee spins, searching for Keith’s familiar red jacket, but she is disappointed to see that he is not with the other paladins.

“We should be entering Taujeer’s orbit soon.” Coran tells them, and they all move towards their stations. 

“Raise the particle barrier. Scan for Galra.” Shiro orders before turning to look around the control room. “Where are Keith and Allura?”

Shiro looks towards Lee as he asks, knowing that the girl had been with Keith the night before. She shakes her head, a distressed look on her face.

“When I woke up this morning Keith was gone.” She says, and Shiro nods, looking back towards Coran.

“It appears that one of the pods launched in the middle of the night.” Coran tells them, and Lee suddenly half remembers partially waking up, and Keith telling her to go back to sleep. That was probably when he left.

“Wait a minute. Keith and Allura? In the middle of the night? You don’t think they’re…sitting in a tree?” Lance asks. Lee shoots him a glare and he laughs awkwardly, while Pidge mutters: “Nice one Lance.”

They contact the pod, and find out that Allura and Keith had taken off to find out if they are the ones that Zarkon is tracking. Shiro tries to order them back to the castle, but Allura refuses. Then Keith speaks up. He says he will be able to pilot them away if Zarkon shows up, and while Lee knows he is a good pilot, her stomach still twists at the thought of the two of them out there with just a pod as their protection.

“Keith…” Lee speaks, but she is interrupted by an alarm blaring, all of them crying out. As they enter the debris field that surrounds Taujeer, their contact with the pod turns to static, as they have run into some kind of interference. Coran is going to take the castle back out of the debris field to re-establish contact, while the paladins are going to take their lions down to Taujeer.

“Wait! Um, would one of you be willing to give me a ride down to the planet in your lion?” Lee hesitantly asks. 

“Of course. You can ride with me.” Shiro says, smiling at her. She returns it, following him down and into Black. They travel down to the planet, and Lee exits Black with Shiro. They are met by the Taujeerian leader, who explains what is happening. He then starts talking about Voltron, and turns to study Lee.

“And you, are you a paladin of Voltron as well?” He asks, and Lee shakes her head. The Taujeerian leader slumps dejectedly, saying that he would much rather have 5 members of Voltron, but Lee steps forward, placing her hand on his shoulder.

“I may not be a paladin of Voltron, but I’m here to help you and your people. I don’t intend to leave this planet until we’ve saved all of you.” She says, her eyes fierce. As Shiro moves to get back into Black, Lee decides to stay behind on the planet’s surface. 

“Are you sure Lee? It’s dangerous out here.” Shiro says, not liking the idea. He feels responsible for all of his teammates, but he feels a special responsibility towards Lee. For one, because she saved his life when they crash landed after their fight with Zarkon. But more so, because of Keith. 

Keith, who has always been sort of rough around the edges; tough, stubborn, and headstrong; who has trouble making friends, but has seemed to open up to her. Keith, who he sometimes feared would never find someone willing to see past his tough exterior to see the great guy Shiro knew he was, now had a girlfriend, and Shiro could see how happy he was, how much he cared about Lee. And Lee had helped the rest of them too. It’s risky for Lee to stay out there on the surface, and he doesn’t want her to do it, but he knows that like Keith, when she sets her mind on an idea it will be almost impossible to convince her otherwise.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I won’t be able to help in there with you. There's more I can do out here.” She says, and with a sigh Shiro nods.

“Alright. But be careful. And if I think it’s getting too dangerous for you, I’m coming back to pick you up.” Shiro’s tone of voice brooked no arguments. Lee nods, accepting his terms, and Shiro runs back into the Black Lion. They split up, with Pidge and Lance trying to close up the cracks opening to buy them more time, while Hunk and Shiro use their lions to try and push the Ark back upright.

Lee forms her lion, but chooses to keep her consciousness in her own body, as this is too dangerous a place to just leave it unattended. She makes her lion big, as big as the Voltron lions, and moves it up against the Ark between the Black and Yellow Lions to help push. A crack opens up right beside her, Lee gasping in surprise, but then Pidge and Lance are there, closing it up before it can cause any damage. They push rocks in to hold up the Ark, and Lee releases her lion, all of them pausing to look up at the Ark.

Hunk manages to fix up the ship, and they retreat to the Lions, Lee entering the Black Lion once again. Then as the Ark just begins to rise up, a laser fires down, and the ship falls to the ground again. They look up to see a Galra ship coming towards them. Hunk moves to try and keep the Ark from falling into the acid, while Shiro, Pidge and Lance move in to draw the fire of the Galra ship. Shiro calls for Coran to come in on the castle, and sends a message to Keith and Allura letting them know what is happening.

Lee is riding inside the Black Lion when suddenly she feels an intense spike of a bad feeling in her gut. She gasps, catching Shiro’s attention.

“Lee, what is it?” Shiro asks, not removing his attention from his flying, but still listening to her.

“Keith? Keith, are you okay? Allura, can you hear me? Guys, if you can hear me, say something!” Lee cries out, but she gets no response. Her frantic calling sets the other on edge, as does the lack of response. They know that the planet was interfering with communications, but suddenly the silence seems more foreboding.

“Lee, what’s wrong? What’s going on with Keith and Allura?” Shiro asks.

“I don’t know, I just got a really bad feeling.” She replies.

“Well, there isn’t anything we can do for now, we’ll have to wait until we can get free of the interference in order to get in contact with them.” Shiro tells her, but Lee shakes her head.

“No, I have another way to contact Keith.” She says, and the others are confused, but they have to keep focusing on their battle, so they choose not to ask any more questions. 

_‘Keith, what happened? Are you guys okay?’_ Keith hears Lee’s voice in his mind, and sighs in relief. Allura gives him a strange look, but he doesn’t notice, too relieved at hearing Lee.

 _‘Lee, yeah we’re okay. I tried to use the booster fuel Pidge had left, but it blew up the shuttle. Now we’re stranded.’_ Keith informs her.

Lee gasps, but then she hears a rumble echo out from the back of her mind. She turns towards that connection, finding that it was the Red Lion that made the noise. She can feel the distress the Lion feels, and a gentle inquiring, so she sends along the information Keith has just given her. She then feels power and protectiveness echo down the connection, and as she takes a peek at what the Red Lion is planning, she smiles.

 _‘Don’t worry Keith, help is on the way.’_ She says. Now that she knows Keith and Allura are fine, she focuses back on the battle before them. All she can do is hold on and watch as Shiro effortlessly pilots the Black Lion, and leads the team. It’s impressive, and if she ever had any questions over why he was chosen as leader, they no longer exist. He looks completely natural doing so.

“Uh, guys? The Red Lion just ran away.” Coran’s voice comes over the coms, but before anyone can panic Lee speaks up.

“Its okay, Red is just going to pick up some precious cargo.” Lee says. Hunk enables a new power on the Yellow Lion, and is able to prevent the Ark from falling into the acid. The other lions all join him to help push the Ark back up. Then, the Red Lion appears, destroying the Galra ship’s cannon. It flies down, joining them in pushing the Ark back up, and everyone greets Keith and Allura, welcoming them back. 

They form Voltron, and Lee watches in awe. To see Voltron being formed is an incredible sight, but to watch it happen from inside the Black Lion, the head of Voltron, is something else entirely.

The Galra aim their ship at the Ark, and they are planning to ram it into the acid. Voltron draws its sword, and Lee frowns, as she doesn’t think the sword will be enough to cut through the entire ship. Then, Voltron summons a massive sword, using it to slice straight through the whole ship. It explodes, and they all cheer. Voltron then flies down, picking up the Taujeerian Ark, and flying it to safety.

Back on the Castle, Allura and Keith stand before the rest of them. Lee is watching the two of them, keeping a neutral expression on her face. She maintains the neutral look as they apologize, not reacting even when Keith turns to meet her eyes directly as he does so. After Shiro concludes that it is the Black Lion that Zarkon is tracking them through, they fall into a silence. Lee steps forward, standing in front of Keith and Allura, and everyone tenses.

“You two are complete, and utter idiots.” She says looking back and forth between the two. Both of them look down, ashamed. Then, Lee throws herself forward, wrapping an arm around each of their necks. “Don’t ever do something like that to me again.”

The two are surprised at first, but both recover quickly, each wrapping one of their own arms around the girl. The other paladins give them a moment, but then Hunk cries out: “Group hug!” It ends up being a big mess of limbs and bodies, but each of them derives a measure of comfort from it. They hold it for a few moments, before the heat and awkwardness causes them to break apart. Still, as they all step back they exchange grins, happy to be all together once more.


	7. Episode 7

Their happy moment quickly turns back to a serious one, as they discuss the problem they face with the Black Lion. They decide to go and check out a swap moon that Coran had been to previously, in order to see if they can find more teludav crystals. As the paladins race towards the pod bay, Lee hangs back a moment, turning to Allura, who had been disappointed she couldn’t go.

“Don’t worry Allura, I’ll find you something nice and sparkly.” She promises, before catching up with Keith and linking their hands.

The two of them share a bench in the back of the pod, with Hunk and Pidge on the other bench. Lance brags about being in the front, and Lee can see that Hunk is upset.  
“Don’t worry Hunk, you can just call dibs for the way back.” Lee suggests, and Hunk brightens.

“You’re right. Hey Lance! I call dibs for the way back!” Hunk yells up to Lance, and this immediately starts an argument between the two of them. As the two argue loudly, Lee turns to Keith.

“So anything special you’re going to look for?” She asks, and Keith shifts, before shaking his head.

“Nah. What about you?” He looks back towards her, seeing her shrug and smile.

“Well I told Allura I’d get her something sparkly, but other than that I think I’d just like to wander around, see what’s there.” She tells him, and then Coran comes back over the intercom, and he mentions that he got them disguises. As soon as Lee saw the disguises she immediately refused to wear it. She tried to talk Coran out of it, but he wouldn’t be swayed. 

Once they got there, they saw that it was a nice place, a mall, with no space pirates in sight. Coran left, and after the boys took off their disguises, everyone split up. Keith and Lee walked off hand in hand to wander around and look at stuff. As they wander, they pass a stall with a bunch of jewelry and trinkets.

“Oh, I want to take a look around and see if I can find something Allura may like. You can go on without me, I might be a while.” She says, and Keith nods. He gives her a chaste kiss goodbye, and then he heads off. She turns towards the items, scanning over them. 

“Hello there dear, can I help you find something?” She hears a voice ask, and looks up to see an older woman standing there. The lady has a kind look about her, and Lee is almost reminded of Reiner in a way, as they seem to share that same spark of wisdom in her eyes.

“Well I was looking for something for a friend of mine. But first, may I ask you a quick question?” She asks, and the woman nods. “Do you know anything about old coins?”

The lady gets a contemplative look on her face, fingers tapping her chin. “Hmmm. I personally don’t deal in coins. But if you go down this aisle here and turn to your left, you’ll find a small shop. If you go in there and talk to Arsal, he’ll be able to help you. And tell him that Dortaz sent you and he won’t dare give you anything less than the best treatment or I’ll have his head.”

“Thank you Dortaz. My name is Lee. If all goes well then I’ll be back soon to take a closer look at all of your items.” Lee says, and the two shake hands before she turns and heads for the shop Dortaz told her about. When she turns the corner she finds a small shop with a sign announcing it as ‘Arsal’s Antiquities’. Figuring this must be the right place, Lee enters. A small bell dings, and she hears a voice call out from a back room.

“I’ll be right out.” The voice calls, and Lee moves towards the counter, looking around at everything. “Yes, yes, how can I help you?”

“Hi, are you Arsal?” Lee asks, and the elderly gentleman raises an eye ridge.

“I suppose that depends on who is asking.” He replies, and Lee chuckle. She holds a hand out, and the man accepts it, and they shake hands.

“I’m Lee. Dortaz sent me your way. She said you would be the person I’d want to talk to about old coins.” Lee informs him, and the old man snorts.

“Did she now? Well alright then, let’s see what you’ve got.” Lee reaches into her pocket, having opted to wear a more casual outfit on the outing as opposed to her white suit, she actually has pockets in these pants. She pulls out a small pouch, setting it down on the counter, and pulling out a single coin. She hands it over to the man, who pulls out a magnifying device. He studies the coin, flipping it over before ‘hmm’ing thoughtfully. “It’s a very impressive fake.”

“What? It’s not a fake, it’s real.” Lee protests, and Arsal chuckles.

“I highly doubt that. The civilization this is from was destroyed 10 000 years ago.” Arsal say, and Lee stares at him with as much earnestness as she can muster.

“Please, these are definitely the real thing. Can you look closer? I promise it isn’t fake.” Lee implores, and the man looks at her skeptically. However, with a huff of air he brings up his magnifier again, leaning in closer. He makes a surprised noise, then lifts the coin, turning it over. He gently sets it down, lowering his magnifier and looking up at Lee. His eye ridges are fully raised, and Lee waits with baited breath.

“How did you ever find this?” He asks, and Lee gives him a wry smile.

“It’s a long story. But, now that you know that it’s real, how much is it worth?” Lee asks. The two talk business, and Lee is shocked by how much he is willing to give her for just one coin. She sells him a few, but keeps most of them for herself for now. She leaves with a new pouch filled with modern currency.

“Thank you for all your help!” She says, and Arsal is too engrossed with studying his new coins to reply. The bell sounding as Lee opens the door seems to snap Arsal out of it for a minute as he calls out to her back.

“Tell Dortaz that I owe her one now.” Lee laughs, agreeing, and she exits the shop. She then heads back for Dortaz’s stall. When she arrives there, she greets the woman. “Hello Dortaz, I’m back.”

“Ah, so you are. Arsal must have been good to you then.” Dortaz says, and Lee grins.

“Yes, I think we’re both pretty satisfied. He asked me to tell you that he owes you one now.” She informs the lady, and this causes a smile to break out over her face.

“Did he now? You must have brought him something interesting then.” Dortaz says, and Lee smiles.

“Yeah I guess so. But now that I have some money to spend, why don’t you show me what you have here?” Lee suggests, and Dortaz doesn’t miss the change in subject, but it isn’t any of her business to pry into her customer’s lives. She shows Lee her wares, which consist mostly of handmade, but well-crafted jewelry and carved figurines. She looks over everything before spotting a necklace. It is relatively simple, but elegant. There is a beautiful clear crystal that reflects the light, and silver vines wrap around the top of it to hold it in place. The chain is a silver colour, but thought it looks delicate, Dortaz reassures her that it is made of a lightweight, strong material that will make it all but impossible to snap. It is almost perfect, but it’s missing something. She glances around, before spotting a bin of charms. She looks through it, before finding one at the bottom. It is a pink lion’s head, and it looks quite similar to her necklace one, and the Voltron lions. 

Lee purchases both, sliding the charm onto the necklace she then places the small jewelry box back in the bag Dortaz gave her. She waves goodbye to the woman, before continuing on her way. She isn’t sure where Keith went, but decides to head back towards the clock and see if she can spot him anywhere on the way. As she is walking she suddenly hears a commotion behind her, and she turns only to see Keith and Hunk running towards her.

“Keith?” She exclaims, thoroughly confused. Hunk is in the lead, with Keith just behind him. The two of them look up at hearing her voice, but neither of them stop. 

“Lee!” Keith yells. Hunk runs right past her, while Keith reaches out and grabs her hand as he races by her, pulling her along without slowing. Lee quickly starts running in order to keep up with him, as he drags her along with him and Hunk. “Come on!”

Once she has sped up to keep on pace with him, she takes a quick look over her shoulder, only to see the mall cop chasing them on a scooter. She turns her head back to look at Keith, having to fight off a grin.

“What did you do?” She asks, teasing lilt to her voice.

“Nothing!” Keith exclaims, sending her an indignant look. Lee giggles slightly, and then she looks forward and sees Lance and Pidge exiting a store. 

“Time to get moving guys!” Hunk tells them as he runs by.

“Security is on our tail!” Keith says, still pulling Lee along with him. 

“Better hurry.” Lee suggests as her and Keith pass them. She can hear the mall cop yell something, but she is too distracted to hear him fully. Lance and Pidge catch up with them, but as Lee looks forward she sees that they are running out or room to run. 

“Everyone on my Kaltenecker!” Lance yells, and they all drop back. Lance hops on, pulling Pidge on after him. Pidge then turns and extends a hand towards Lee and Keith. Keith lets go of her, pushing her towards the cow, and Lee grabs Pidge’s hand, jumping onto the cow’s back. At that moment they go airborne, and Lee quickly whips around, reaching back to grasp Keith’s hand. As they fly down to the first floor, she pulls Keith up behind her, and he in turn reaches back to help pull Hunk up. However, there really isn’t enough room for all of them, and so with Hunk practically falling off the back of the cow Keith grabs Lee’s waist, scooting forward and putting her on his lap. This gives Hunk enough room to squeeze on, and as they hit the floor they are all settled.

They fly off, the mall cop still chasing them. As they are flying, they happen to look over and see Coran exiting a shop. He runs over, and Keith takes one arm off Lee’s waist to extend to Coran. The other tightens, and Lee’s back is pressed even tighter against his chest. Keith pulls Coran up to stand on the hover disk Kaltenecker is on, and they zoom through the mall towards the exit. The mall cop stops at the beginning of the exit, yelling after them. Lance stands up slightly on Kaltenecker’s back, and Lee looks towards him, hey eyes widening as she sees the approaching beam.

“Lance look out!” She cries, reaching forward past Pidge to yank on his shirt, pulling him back down just in time to pass safely under the beam. They ride Kaltenecker straight out of the mall, the mall cop’s yelling fading to nothing as they leave. They all cheer and whoop as they make it out safe, exhilaration running through them from the impromptu chase.

They go back to the pod, Hunk claiming the shotgun seat, but Lance is surprisingly okay with that, as he stays with Keith, Lee, and Pidge, and Kaltenecker, in the back. He and Pidge are chatting excitedly about their game console, and Lee and Keith sit on their bench holding hands. Keith is leaning against the wall, facing Lee, with legs bent, feet flat on the bench. Their clasped hands rest on one of his bent knees. As Lee looks at him, she remembers how nice it was to feel his warmth at her back, and arms around her.

Making up her mind she reaches out, nudging Keith’s legs farther apart. He looks at her questioningly, and she slides closer, turning her back to him. She slides back until her chest presses against his back, leaning her head back onto his shoulder. She turns her head slightly towards Keith, their faces barely inches apart.

“Is this okay?” She asks, and he nods. The two settle in, content to just sit quietly together like that for the rest of the pod ride. 

When they arrive back at castle, they all head for the control room. Shiro comes in afterwards, and he tells them that he was able to bond with his lion, and that they are heading for the Blade of Marmora headquarters. Lee feels Keith’s hand reflexively tighten around hers. She looks over to him, and though he has a neutral look on his face, she can see that he looks tense. She gently squeezes his hand, smiling at him when he looks over. He seems to relax slightly, which makes Lee happy. As soon as he looks away though she is sending a concerned look at his back. She decides that no matter what happens with the Blade of Marmora, if Keith needs her she is going to be there for him.


	8. Episode 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is the longest one of the season. This is the episode that I had the most ideas for after watching season 2, and it's a really pivotal chapter when it comes to Lee's growth power wise, and when it comes to her feelings for Keith.

As they approach the Blade of Marmora’s headquarters, Lee can only watch as Keith seems to get more and more tense and anxious. She wants to try and reassure him, but she gets the feeling that whatever is troubling him, is something that she won’t be able to fix. So she decides to keep her distance, and give him some space. When they get to the headquarters they find that it is in an almost impossible place to get to. They are hailed by the headquarters, and Shiro identifies them. They are then instructed to come with only 2 members, and unarmed. Shiro chooses to take Keith, and Lee feels a ball of dread settle into her stomach. Before the two can leave, she pulls Keith to the side.

“Please, please be careful over there.” She implores, clasping one of his hands between her own. 

“Yeah of course. What’s wrong?” Keith asks, as he sees that Lee looks really worried.

“I’ve got a really bad feeling about this. I wish I could go with you.” Lee says, and Keith’s brows furrow. He has seen more than enough evidence to trust Lee’s bad feelings, and the fact that she has one about this mission sets him on edge. 

“Hey, Shiro will be with me, and I’ll have the Red Lion there.” He reassures, and Lee nods, but her worried look doesn’t go away. 

“I know. Just, if anything happens let me know okay? I’ll be listening, and if you need help, I’ll figure something out, I promise.” Lee tells him, and he smiles, coaxing out a small smile from her too. She wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him tight against her. Keith’s arms wrap around her tightly as well. Keith then pulls back, staring into her eyes for a moment. He then rushes forward, slamming his lips against hers. 

The kiss is frantic, the two trying to get as close as they can. Through the kiss they can feel their shared worry and apprehension. When they break apart, both are breathing heavier, and Lee has to tightly squeeze her eyes closed. This bad feeling in her gut is almost making her sick, and more than anything she wants to cling to Keith, make him stay, or take her with him. But when he steps back, she lets him, her arms falling to her side. 

He and Shiro leave the control room, and Lee moves closer to the center of the room, so that she can see all of the screens. Before the Red Lion takes off, she feels the need to check in with Keith one last time.

 _‘Remember, Keith, even though I’m not actually there, I’m here, and I’m with you.’_ Lee speaks to Keith in her mind, biting her lip as she stares unseeingly at the screens.

 _‘Got it Lee.’_ Keith replies, and she opens her eyes, watching as the Red Lion takes off for the headquarters. Lee holds her breath as the Red Lion begins the dangerous flight. It starts to get pulled towards one of the black holes, and Lee gasps, her heart stopping. Keith is able to pilot it out, and back on course, making it safely to the station.

On the castle, Lee can only wait and pace anxiously. The others are nervous and worried as well, but Lee is practically thrumming with nervous energy. Suddenly she pauses in her pacing, freezing completely. Her one arm moves to rest against her stomach, where she had felt a spike in her bad feeling. She desperately wants to check that Keith is okay, but she doesn’t want to distract him if something is happening. She can tell that whatever is going on isn’t good, but that it isn’t life threatening at the moment.

She goes back to her pacing, but decides that should her bad feeling get worse again, she is going to contact Keith, and find out what’s going on. Lee loses track of time as she paces. Her thoughts whirl, only able to guess what could be happening over on the base. She isn’t sure how much time has passed since the last spike of her bad feeling, but this time it is infinitely worse.

She drops to her knees, a gasp being drawn from her as she hits the ship’s floor. Distantly she can hear voices, but her focus is on the feeling running through her. It feels like an electric current is running through her, her entire being feels like it is trembling with the shocks of this bad feeling. No longer able to hold herself back, she practically shouts down the connection.

 _‘Keith, what’s going on? Something is happening!’_ She cries out, and as he is getting prepared for the trial, Keith flinches.

 _‘Lee. I was afraid you would sense this.’_ He says, and though Lee feels slightly relieved at hearing him sounding rather calm, it doesn’t lessen the bad feeling still rocking through her.

 _‘Sense it? It’s overwhelming how powerful this bad feeling is. What are you doing?’_ Lee asks, and Keith can hear how even her mental voice is shaking. 

_‘Lee listen, I don’t have time to explain everything. I’m about to engage in this thing they call the Trials of Marmora, they said that’s the only way for me to get answers. The results are knowledge or death but…’_ Keith begins to explain, but is cut off as soon as Lee hears him say death.

 _‘Death? Keith, please, surely there’s another way!’_ Lee pleads, and Keith feels guilty as he hears how distraught Lee is. But he won’t be deterred, not now that he is so close to finding answers.

 _‘I have to do this Lee. I have to know.’_ He tells her. 

_‘I don’t want to lose you.’_ Lee whispers, and Keith closes his eyes, leaning his forehead against the wall.

 _‘You won’t. I don’t plan on failing.’_ Keith says.

 _‘At least let me help you!’_ Lee cries out.

 _‘You can’t. You can’t come over here, it’s too dangerous. Listen, Lee, I have to go. I’m sorry.’_ Keith says, before closing off the connection. Lee tries to get through to him, but he has closed it off completely, and she can’t feel anything from him anymore. Lee comes back out of her mind, opening her eyes only to see everyone crowding around her. Her gaze drifts over them, looking to her side where Allura is kneeling beside her.

“Lee! Are you alright?” Allura pulls her into a hug, and it is then that Lee becomes aware of the fact that she is crying, harsh breaths being pulled out of her, and she feels wetness covering her cheeks. Allura holds her close, even as Lee can feel more tears fall from her eyes, dripping onto the princess’s shoulder. “What happened?”

Lee takes a few deep breaths, drawing strength from the support her friend is giving her. She gathers herself, before leaning back, and wiping the tears from her face.

“I’ve had a bad feeling, ever since Shiro said he and Keith would be going over to the headquarters. But just a few minutes ago, that feeling got worse. It was stronger than any other time when I’ve had this bad feeling. So immediately I reached out to Keith, to find out what was going on. And he told me…” Here a sob breaks free, interrupting her words, and Lee savagely regains her control, before continuing. “He said he’s doing the Trials of Marmora, and that the only outcomes are knowledge or death. He said he had to do it, because he needed answers.”

“Knowledge or death? What kind of barbarics is this?” Allura asks, and Lee shakes her head.

“That’s not the point! We have to help him!” Lee cries, and she sees the others exchange glances.

“How? Keith’s over there, and we’re stuck over here.” Pidge points out, and Lee looks to the girl. Her eyes are wide, frantic still, and Pidge flinches slightly, looking to the side to get away from that gaze.

“There has to be something we can do. We can’t just sit here and wait.” Lee says, and Allura reaches out, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

“I’m afraid that is all we can do.” She says.

“No!” Lee cries, shooting to her feet. The others all scramble up as well, wary as to what she may do.

“Lee…” Allura tries, but Lee won’t hear it.

“I won’t just sit here and do nothing! Keith is in trouble, he’s in danger. He could be fighting for his life at this moment! I have to do something, I have to help him!” Lee cries, and Allura is getting frustrated now.

“How? How do you plan on doing that? You can’t get over there right now.” She says, deciding to lay out the cold hard facts in an effort to snap Lee out of it.

“I can take a pod, fly it over there.” Lee suggests, and Allura shakes her head.

“No. The path isn’t open, you wouldn’t make it.” She can see that she is finally starting to get through to Lee, as the girl deflates slightly, her shoulders slumping. 

“But Allura, I need to do something. I need to help him, to protect him. I need him Allura. I…” Lee cuts off as she can’t find the words to express what she is feeling; but Allura can see it in her eyes and her heart aches for her friend and the anguish and helplessness she feels.

“Lee, panicking will help no one. Try to relax, and calm yourself, and then we can try and figure something out.” Allura urges, and with no other choices, Lee nods, letting out a deep breath. Allura steps back, gesturing for the others to follow her. Lee can see all of them giving her concerned looks as they pass, but she can’t find it in herself to reassure them any.

She drops her head down, squeezing her eyes closed. She takes deep breaths, slowing her heart rate, and calming her body. She pushes everything to the back of her mind; the bad feeling in her gut, her fear and worry, the others in the control room, everything. Instead, she focuses on how she wants to protect Keith.

 _‘Keith is in danger. I have to help him. I **need** to save him. He means so much to me. I’ve never felt as connected to anyone as I have to him. I’ve been afraid; afraid to really let these paladins in, afraid to trust them, afraid to be hurt. But I couldn’t stop myself from caring about Keith. He makes me feel warm and safe and happy. I need him to be safe, I need to protect him, I need him in my life because I…because I love him.’ _ Unbeknownst to Lee, as she is thinking this, white particles of light begin appearing from her heart, more and more forming and spreading. They gather in front of her, and eventually the others notice, pointing it out.

 _‘And because I love him, I want to be there for him. I’ll do whatever it takes, become as strong as I need to, so that whenever he needs me, I’ll be there.’_ The light brightens, and intensifies, more and more light particles coming from Lee’s chest. The others are now watching in awe, wondering what is happening. _‘I won’t give up! I will protect him!’_

Suddenly, the light gathered around Lee shines brighter, her entire body lighting up as well, until with a flash of light, Lee disappears.

“Oh my god!”

“Lee!”

“What happened?”

“Did she just explode?”

“Lee!”

Everyone is in shock, as they stare at where Lee was just standing. They look around, but the girl is nowhere in sight. They are freaking out, when suddenly Lance notices something.

“Wait, look!” He says, pointing towards the ground. Some of the light remains, floating around near the floor. As they watch, the light begins to gather, growing and changing until a familiar shape begins to form. The light forms into the shape of a white lion. The lion turns to look at them, and they can see that its eyes are a brilliant emerald colour, the same as Lee’s.

“Lee?” Allura asks hesitantly, and the lion nods its head. “Where is your body?”

The lion looks around itself, seemingly noticing for the first time that there was no body anywhere. It looks back at them, and gives them what they assume is its attempt at a smile. Then, its eyes close, and the light particles seem to dissolve out of the lion shape, stretching up into a person shape, and with a flash of light Lee is standing in front of them again.

“What the heck just happened?!” Hunk exclaims, and Lee looks to them with a massive grin on her face,

“I did it! I can really become my lion now, without my human body being stuck. I can go and help Keith!” Lee says, and the others are still trying to process what just happened. But before Lee can go anywhere, Allura stops her.

“Wait Lee, we already talked about this. You’ll never be able to make it over there in a pod.” Allura says, but Lee’s grin only widens as she shakes her head.

“I don’t need a pod. It’s like how I could direct my lion form wherever I wanted it to go, except this time, I am my lion. And if I focus, I can direct my energy wherever I want it to go. I’d be able to travel through to the headquarters, and I don’t have to worry about the gravity dragging me in, because my lion form isn’t exactly a physical form. It’s made of energy. And so all I have to do is focusing on moving my energy to where I want it. And as soon as I make it into the headquarters, I can reform my human body!” Lee’s eyes are lit up with fire and determination, and the last thing Allura wants is to bring her friend back to the depressed, anxious state she was in earlier, but she also doesn’t want her dying because she rushed headlong into something and no one tried to stop her.

“But what if the energy from that sun messes with you? What if the black hole is able to pull your energy into it? You could be lost forever.” Allura points out, and finally Lee’s smile drops into a more serious look.

“Look, Allura, I don’t know how to explain it, but I know this will work. You just have to trust me.” Lee implores, and Allura doesn't want to let Lee do this. But she had seen just how broken and lost Lee was when she thought there was nothing she could do to help. And though there was a burning determination and excitement and fierceness in her eyes now, Allura could also see the seriousness, that Lee really and truly believed she could do this. Allura sighed, and Lee knew she had won. She threw her arms around Allura’s neck, and felt the other girl’s own arms wrap tightly around her in return.

“Thank you.” Lee murmurs. Allura pushes her back slightly to be able to meet her eyes.

“Don’t thank me. Just go rescue our reckless Red Paladin. And make sure you get all three of you back here safely.” Allura demands, and Lee nods.

“I will.” She promises, and the others all say goodbye and good luck, before Lee turns and runs to the hanger. There, she forms into her lion form, growing it until it is the size of the Red Lion. Then, she flies out the hangar doors. 

It’s weird at first, trying to get used to pretty much flying. She has to focus on directing her energy towards the path she wants to follow, able to track the residual traces of the Red Lion from when it had passed through there. She can feel the gravities pulling at her on either side, but she keeps a tight hold of her energy, keeping it close and packed together, not letting it pull her form apart. She isn’t sure what would happen to her if her lion form was pulled apart and her human body wasn’t anywhere, and she doesn’t want to find out. As she makes it to safety, and begins getting closer to the base she releases some of the energy, shrinking her form so she is harder to detect. She lands behind the Red Lion, using it to shield her from view, should the Blade of Marmora be watching.

She reaches out for her connection with Red, finding the lion eagerly waiting. She had been worried about her stubborn paladin too, and Lee reassures her that she will go in and save him. Red purrs in her mind, and then Lee sends her plan to the lion. Red chuffs in understanding, and Lee quickly darts towards where the entrance is, crouching on the opposite side from Red, then she waits. She gives Red the go ahead, and the lion’s eyes light up. Red stands, before raising a paw and slamming it against the base. The two wait, and sure enough they hear the entrance opening up. Before they can see anything, Red sits back down, eyes going offline.

The door opens, and two members of the Blade of Marmora step out. They begin looking around trying to find what made the noise. While they are distracted, Lee jumps down into the base. She quickly takes off, running down a few different halls, until she feels that she is far enough away that she is safe to pause and plan her next move. She turns back to her human form, looking back and forth down the hall. She doesn’t hear any commotion, no alarms or guards running after her, so she knows she got in undetected. She grins to herself, closing her eyes.

 _‘Just hang on Keith. I’m coming.’_ Lee speaks, though she gets no response. She set off in the direction that feels right, following this guiding sensation that is leading her towards Keith. As she sets out, there is a spike in her bad feeling, and she knows that she has to hurry up. She starts running, but as she turns a corner she all but runs into a couple members of the Blade of Marmora. She turns to run, but they grab her, preventing her from escaping. They march her down a series of corridors, and though she feels like she is getting closer to Keith, she also knows this isn’t leading to where he is. 

Finally, they reach a door, which one of them opens. As soon as the door is open they are releasing her, pushing her inside, and Lee stumbles from the force but manages to stay on her feet. Before she can even think about trying to make a break for it, she hears a familiar voice.

“Lee?” She looks up only to see Shiro standing there, staring at her in shock. Beside him is another Blade member.

“Black Paladin, we gave you two simple instructions. Send only two, and come unarmed. And yet, you broke both of them.” He says.

“No! I-…” Shiro tries to explain, but he is immediately cut off. This makes Lee angry, and she glares at the man, hating that she can’t even see his eyes through his stupid mask.

“What was your plan? The two of you would be distractions, while she snuck around to steal information, to spy on us?” He accuses.

“No, of course not!” Shiro protests. 

“Then why did you bring her here?” He asks, and Lee finally decides to speak up.

“They didn’t bring me here. I came on my own.” She tells him. 

“Impossible.” He scoffs, looking towards her, the blank face of the mask still somehow able to show suspicion and mistrust. “The path to travel safely here closed shortly after they arrived. No ship would be able to make it through outside the window of opportunity.”

“Who said anything about a ship?” Lee asks. Then suddenly, she feels compelled to turn, and look towards the front of the room. She had been too focused on Shiro and the Blade member before to look that way, but now it feels like she can’t look away. She can see Keith fighting members of the Blade of Marmora. Even from here she can see that he looks like he’s already taken a beating, and he is still getting knocked around. Lee feels a protective rage rush over her, making her clench her fists by her sides so she doesn’t jump at the Blade member. “Take me to him.”

She spins around to face him, her eyes almost glowing with her emotions. Standing there, hands clenched by her side, her expression practically a snarl, and her bright green eyes, even Shiro has to admit she definitely looks like some kind of dangerous beast; a predator.

“He is participating in the Trials of Marmora. Once they have begun, they will not end until one of two outcomes is achieved; knowledge or death.” The Blade member states, but Lee doesn’t waver in the slightest.

“Then let me join him.” She says, and both Shiro and the Blade member are caught off guard.

“If you join his trial, then you will share his fate. Should the outcome be knowledge, you too will gain the answers he sought. And should the outcome be death, then you will die as well.” The Galra tells her, and Lee nods.

“I understand.” Lee acknowledges his warnings without a hint of anxiousness.

“Then, do you accept them?” The tension in the room is coming to a breaking point.

“Lee, wait a minute, think about this!” Shiro implores, but Lee doesn’t need to think about it for even a second; her decision is already made.

“Yes, I accept.” She says, and the Blade member nods. 

“Very well.” He steps forward, speaking into a sort of loudspeaker. “Pause the trials.” 

Lee looks back down towards Keith, seeing that he has just entered a room and Blade members stand before him. They freeze, and Keith looks around curiously.

“What’s going on?” She hears him ask, and she almost wants to cry at how tired he sounds. 

“Take me down there now.” Lee demands, and soon she is being escorted down by 2 Blade members. She had been allowed to just wear her own suit for the Trials, and they clearly didn’t know about what her necklace was. She could feel that they were getting closer to Keith. The Blade members paused in front of a door that looked no different than any of the others, but Lee knew that Keith was behind it. The Blade members opened the door, and Lee walked down a short dark hallway before entering a larger room. 

“Keith!” She cried, racing towards him the moment she spotted him. 

“Lee?” He asks, and she can hear the shock and disbelief in his voice. She doesn’t slow down at all, slamming into him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She hears him let out an ‘oof’, knows that he is probably bruised and aching all over, but she refuses to let go, or even loosen her grip. After a few moments he gets over his shock, winding his own arms around her. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m helping you with your trials. We’re in this together now.” She says, and Keith pulls back, studying her face. He can see in her eyes that she isn’t giving up, and that nothing he says will change her mind. So instead, he just smiles, fighting to hold back a wave of emotion from overwhelming him. Lee smiles at him, and they take one last moment to bask in each other’s presence before turning to face their opponents. They ready themselves, and look towards each other.

 _‘So, together then?’_ Lee asks, and Keith’s face softens.

 _‘Yeah, together.’_ He agrees. They exchange a nod, and hear a voice echo out that the trials are beginning again. As soon as the last syllable is echoing through the room, the two of them are taking off, rushing towards their enemies. Lee pulls her baton, crossing it with one of her opponents’ blades. She lifts a leg, kicking them in the chest and sending them flying. Another one quickly takes their place, and Lee has to duck to avoid being cut. She is forced to dodge as this Blade member is quite fast, only able to block and defend herself. She has both hands on her baton, just barely holding back the blade that her opponent is trying to push down at her, when out of her periphery she sees one of them sneaking up on Keith.

 _‘Keith behind you!’_ Her warning comes just in time, Keith rolling out of the way. Seeing 3 of them advancing on him fills Lee with renewed anger. She looks back towards her opponent, an idea striking her. She lets go with her left hand, her right quickly pulling the baton out and away. Without her baton there to hold back the blade, it swings down towards her with all the force her opponent was applying. But Lee quickly uses her left hand to grab onto her opponent’s wrist, using their force against them as she flips them over her. As she turns back towards where Keith is, she sees him hit the floor, crying out as he rolls a few times.

Without even having to think about it, her body dissolves into white light, her lion being formed. She bounds forward, growing as she does, and leaps over Keith, landing crouched between him and the Blade members. She snarls, and they pause, hesitating. Keith turns to look behind him, but can’t see her body anywhere.

 _‘Lee?’_ He asks, confused. Lee swipes at the Blade members with her paw, and they all leap backwards.

 _‘Yeah, it’s really me in here.’_ She says, and then she pounces on the Blade member who had come the closest. She knocks them to the floor, before quickly leaping away. She yowls as she feels a sharp pain, looking back to see white light escaping from a slash to the back of her shoulder. She fires a blast of energy at the one who slashed her, forcing them backwards. With another flash of light, she is standing back in her human body again. She still feels the stinging pain, and she looks back only to see she is bleeding, the injury she suffered as a lion still there.

She grabs her baton again, and her and Keith stand side by side with only 2 Blade members left. Both her and Keith are breathing heavier, while their opponents look completely unaffected. Lee suddenly gets an idea on how to quickly finish them.

 _‘Keith, I’ll wrap my whip around one and pull them towards us, and you be ready to hit them.’_ She shares her plan with Keith, and sees him grin out if the corner of her eye.

 _‘Good idea. Then, while you pull the one over, you can leap over them and catch the other by surprise.’_ Keith suggests.

 _‘Yes! Okay, ready?’_ She asks, and Keith gives her a nod. Lee then quickly flicks her wrist, sending her whip wrapping around one of the Blade members. She yanks, pulling them off balance and directly towards them. She then races forward, leaping over them. She extends her foot, the other Blade member not having any time to react before she is kicking them straight in the face. She lands on the ground, looking back to see Keith had taken down his as well. Just when she goes to celebrate though, they all quickly stand up, before moving to tell them that they aren’t supposed to go through the door.

Keith and Lee fight through a couple more rooms, communicating telepathically in order to coordinate attacks, and warn the other. Lee alternates between her human and lion form, and though they are both good, they are still outnumbered, and are getting tired. They enter another room, and Lee wants to scream as she watches yet more Blade members rise from the floor. 

_‘There!’_ Keith cries out, before he suddenly throws his blade. He reaches over, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. Lee is confused, but as they get close to the Blade members, Lee suddenly clues in to what Keith is thinking. They fight their way past them, closer to where his blade is preventing one of the opening in the floor from closing. They simultaneously drop into slides, going on either side of the opening, as Keith grabs his blade. Both stand, Keith quickly wrapping his arms around Lee, and then they leap into the hole.

A door opens, letting them into an empty room. Lee has one of Keith’s arms pulled over her shoulder, helping him to walk.

“Guess we really weren’t supposed to go through that door.” He says.

“Guess not.” Lee replies, before feeling Keith start to sway, his weight leaning heavier and heavier on her. “Keith? Keith!”

He suddenly passes out, and Lee stumbles as his full weight pulls on her. She slowly lowers the two of them to the ground, Keith’s body laid out to the side with his head in her lap.

“Hey, Keith, come on, don’t do this. The hard part is over, you can’t just quit on me now.” Lee says, her hands cradling his face. Her thumbs brush over his cheeks, and then suddenly his eyes open and he stands up again. 

“Keith, you’re okay!” She exclaims, but Keith doesn’t seem to hear her. In fact, he doesn’t even look at her. He starts talking, sounding like he is having a conversation with someone, but there is no one there but the two of them. She hears him mention Shiro’s name.

“Shiro isn’t here Keith. It’s just you and me.” She says, but he still doesn’t even turn around. Then, she hears him say her name. “Yes? Keith I’m here.”

“What are you saying?” Keith asks, and Lee’s brows furrow, her heart starting to pound.

“I’m saying that I’m here, I’m right here with you Keith.” She repeats herself.

“I thought you came here to help me?” Keith exclaims, and Lee steps forward, closer to him, though still keeping some distance.

“I did, I came because I want to protect you!” She cries out.

“I have to do this, I have to find out the truth.” Keith says, and Lee nods.

“I know. I’m here for you.” She murmurs.

“Wait! No, Shiro! Lee! Stop! Don’t leave!” Keith suddenly yells, and Lee steps forward, moving around to his front. 

“I’m not going anywhere Keith.” She says, but he is staring forward, not even looking at her. “I’m right here, I’m right beside you Keith, why won’t you look at me?”

Then suddenly Keith drops, and Lee darts forward, managing to catch him a second time. Once again she cradles his head in her lap, but this time his face is clenching up, and he is making small noises, almost like he is having a nightmare. And that is when it clicks, and she realizes that he must be trapped in some sort of hallucination, or simulation made by the Blade’s suit. She drops down, placing her forehead against his own, and reaches out for the connection, nudging at it gently. Whatever part of his mind that is trapped in the simulation, it’s only a part of it, and somewhere some piece of him must still be aware of reality, because Lee only has to gently nudge their connection and Keith is throwing it wide open. Lee is pulled inside the scenario, able to see what Keith is seeing. She appears in a small, slightly run down house. There is another person, a man there, but Lee only has eyes for Keith.

 _‘Keith.’_ She calls, and he turns, eyes widening at seeing her.

 _‘Lee, what are you doing here?’_ He asks, and Lee steps forward.

 _‘Keith this isn’t real. It’s all an illusion, remember, the Trials of Marmora?’_ She asks, moving to stand right in front of him. Keith’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, and then an explosion sounds. Keith turns towards the door.

 _‘Lee, I have to go, I have to fight.’_ He says, taking a step forward.

 _‘Keith!’_ Lee cries out, and he pauses, turning back to look at her. She doesn’t waste any more time, reaching forward she grabs his shoulders, pulling him into a kiss. He relaxes into it, and after a minute she pulls away, resting her forehead against his and looking right into his eyes. _‘Come back to me.’_

She blinks, and when she opens her eyes she sees his right in front of her. 

“Lee?” She hears him say, and she sits up, realizing that they are back in the room where he had passed out. Then, she clues in to the fact that he was awake. 

“Keith! You’re okay!” She cheers, and he sits up, almost falling back down as she throws herself at him. Suddenly, they hear bangs and explosions, feeling the ground tremble. Shiro comes racing up, and they look towards him in shock.

He runs over, helping Lee lift Keith up. Shiro pulls one of Keith’s arms over his shoulders, while Lee wedges herself under his other one.

“Stop what you’re doing!” A group of Blade of Marmora members shows up, and Lee tenses.

“What are you talking about? What’s going on?” Keith asks. Then, Lee becomes aware of a burning anger, coming from the back of her mind. She follows it, finding fear, and worry mixed in as well.

“It’s the Red Lion.” Lee says, and they turn to her in surprise. “She’s worried, and angry, and so she’s attacking.”

“Call off your beast!” One of them demands, and Lee tenses, offended on Red’s behalf.

“Move out of the way! We’re leaving!” Shiro says, as more and more debris falls around them.

“You’re not leaving with that blade. It does not belong to you. You failed to awaken it!” They say.

“What does that mean?” Keith asks.

“Give up the blade!” One of them demands, pulling his own and rushing forward. Before either Shiro or Keith can react, Lee is racing forwards to meet him. He swings, and she pulls her baton to block it. The two push against each other for a minute, then Keith suddenly speaks up.

“Wait! Just take the knife.” He says, holding it out towards them. Lee forms her baton back into her necklace, turning to face him. 

“Keith, are you sure?” She asks. He looks over at her, and smiles.

“Yeah. It doesn’t matter where I come from. I know who I am. We all need to work together to fight Zarkon, and if that means I give up this knife then fine. Take it.” He holds it out further, but then suddenly the marking on it shines brilliantly.

“You’ve awoken the blade.” Lee hears one of them say, but she can only watch in awe as the knife suddenly changes shape, becoming larger, and longer. “The only way this is possible is if Galra blood runs through your veins.”

Lee is frozen in shock, and she can see that she isn’t the only one. She zones out after that. Not really listening to what the people around her are saying. Instead, she watches Keith. She watches him all the way until they get back to the Castle, and still she can’t figure out what his exact feelings are on the matter. He is hiding them too well, and Lee doesn’t want to pry if he isn’t ready to talk. Besides, as the Blade’s leader tells them the timetable must be moved up to now, she knows that it isn’t exactly the time for it.


	9. Episode 9

Ever since getting back to the Castle from the Blade of Marmora’s headquarters, Lee had been distracted. In quick succession she had found out that Keith was doing the Trials of Marmora, risking his life to get answers to some of the questions he had; through her worry and fear realized she loved him; was able to achieve what she was unable to before, and manipulate her energy to transform from her human body to her lion form; snuck into the Blade’s base and been captured; joined Keith’s trials and fought for both of their lives; and then found out that Keith had Galra blood in him.

For Lee, the fact that Keith had Galra blood wasn’t a big deal. She knew that not all of the Galra were evil, and even if every other one was, she could never believe that Keith was a bad person. What she was more concerned about was the fact that she had just realized she loved Keith, and now it felt sort of like he was avoiding her. Or, maybe not avoiding her, specifically, but he was quiet, withdrawn. She couldn’t imagine what it must feel like to learn something like that, and she wants to give him space to process, but at the same time she wants to reassure him that he doesn’t have to worry, that it doesn’t change anything for her. For now though, she decides to stay quiet, and let him try to figure out his thoughts and feeling first.

With her own thoughts whirling, she hasn’t really been listening too carefully to the plan the others were fleshing out. She knew that it wouldn’t be happening just yet, as they had to prepare first. They decide to split up in order to gather the resources and help they will need. Hunk, Keith and Lee are being sent to gather more scaultrite in order to build a massive teludav to teleport Zarkon’s ship. Before they leave, everyone exchanges goodbyes and good lucks.

Lee moves towards Allura, the girls wrapping their arms around each other in a tight hug. After a few moments, they pull back slightly, Allura keeping her hands on Lee’s shoulders, and meeting her eyes.

“Lee, be careful.” Allura urges, and she nods.

“You too.” She replies, and then she feels Allura’s hands squeeze her shoulders tighter.

“No, I mean, be **careful** .” She stresses, her eyes lifting to look at something over Lee’s shoulders. Lee turns her head, only to see that Allura is staring at Keith. She whips back around to face Allura, scowl darkening her face.

“Are you serious?” She asks in disbelief.

“He’s Galra, and they’re not to be trusted-…” Allura begins, but Lee quickly cuts her off.

“He’s Keith. We can trust him.” Lee says, and Allura’s eyes narrow, her brows furrowing.

“That’s what we thought about Zarkon too.” She mutters darkly, and Lee can only stare in shock for a minute.

“Not every Galra is Zarkon.” She states.

“Lee, all I’m asking is that you’re careful.” Allura says.

“I can’t believe you.” Lee mutters, disgust in her voice as she shakes her head at the other girl. She shakes Allura’s hands off her shoulders, turning away. 

“Lee wait.” Allura reaches forward, spinning Lee back around to face her and Lee snaps. She gets up in Allura’s face, the princess’s eyes widening at the anger and disgust in Lee’s face.

“You are so blinded by your anger and hatred, and it’s causing you to be completely irrational. Keith is one of the best people I’ve ever met, and if you can’t see it, that’s your loss.” She hisses, and Allura is taken aback. Lee spins on her heel, stalking away, and this time Allura doesn’t try to stop her.

 

Once Keith and Hunk are done with their goodbyes, the three of them board the Yellow Lion. Hunk pilots them out, and through a wormhole. Hunk is in the pilot’s seat, with Keith and Lee leaning on opposite sides of the cockpit. 

“Why does Allura get to take a leisurely visit to the Balmera, while we have to fly into the belly of a giant space worm to get scaultrite?” Hunk asks, breaking the silence inside the lion.

“You heard Coran. Building a giant teludav isn’t easy. Everyone has a job to do and this is ours.” Keith says, and Lee looks over at him, but he is looking towards Hunk, not meeting her gaze. 

“Yeah but I always get the worst jobs. Go to a Galra occupied planet to get my lion, go to a Galra occupied Balmera to get a crystal, go into the belly of a beast with the only Galra alien team member.” Hunk says, and immediately Lee’s hackles are raised, some of her leftover anger at Allura being re-alighted.

“I’m not an alien.” Keith replies.

“Well, you’re kind of an alien. You’re way more alien than me, you’re at least some alien, I’m-I’m none alien.” Hunk says, and then Lee speaks up.

“And I’m all alien. Do you have something against aliens Hunk?” Lee asks, and she sees Hunk freeze. 

“No, no, no, of course not! I like aliens, I think aliens are great! I’m not a xenophobist!” He exclaims, and seeing his stammering as he tries to explain himself, Lee’s anger melts away as she realizes he really didn’t mean anything by it.

“What’s that?” She asked, unfamiliar with the term.

“Like, a racist, but against aliens.” He says, and Lee nods. Before they can continue their conversation though, Keith interrupts.

“Let’s just concentrate on the job here.” He says, walking forward to stand beside Hunk’s chair. Lee remains where she is, her brows furrowing as she gazes at Keith’s back.

“Was, was your mom the alien? Your grandpa? How Galra are you?” Hunk asks.

“I don’t know.” Keith replies.

“Did the Blade of Marmora teach you the secret handshake or something?” 

“No. No one said anything.” Keith says, and Lee realizes that instead of the answers Keith had been looking for, he probably just ended up with more questions.

“The Blade of Marmora, they’re pretty tight lipped aren’t they? I get that your society is secret but is everything a secret?” Hunk continues to ask questions, and Lee considers speaking up, telling Hunk to leave it alone. But before she can, Keith starts talking.

“Look, okay, it’s bad enough that Allura hates me now, can you just lay off?” Keith asks. Lee straightens up, moving towards Keith.

“Allura doesn’t hate you.” She says, and Keith turns to look at her in disbelief.

“Look, there’s no need to try and hide it from me to save my feelings or anything. I know you guys were arguing about me back at the ship.” Keith says, and Lee feels a flash of anger at Allura once more.

“Allura, she’s just angry, and hurt, and she can’t see past that to realize that not all Galra are the same. She’s stubborn, but she will come around. That’s why we were arguing; because she’s being ridiculous and I don’t agree with her.” Lee explains, meeting Keith’s eyes so he can see her earnestness. He nods, gazing around and shuffling awkwardly. His eyes dart back towards hers again, and it looks like there is something he wants to say, but then he shakes his head slightly before turning towards Hunk.

“Let’s just- uh, let’s watch this video that Coran uploaded already. We need to collect this stuff and stay on task.” He changes the subject, and now Lee is sure that he is running from this subject. Though she knows it can’t be easy to talk about, she wonders why he is so adamantly trying to avoid talking too much about it, and especially with her.

Hunk brings up a screen, showing a younger Coran. However, as they watch the screen is overtaken by static, Coran voice fading in and out. 

“What’s wrong with the video?” Keith asks.

“It’s 10 000 years old, it’s probably corroded.” Hunk replies, and Lee bites her lip, worried. Hunk reaches out, tapping some things on the screen, and the picture and sounds comes back in. It lasts for a little while, but then the video starts skipping, and they are missing out on vital information. “Whoa.”

At Hunk’s exclamation, both Lee and Keith’s attention is drawn to the windows. Looking outside, they see debris scattered all over.

“They look like dead planets.” Keith says. 

“The charts I’m looking at show these planets should still be thriving. Wow, what do you think-…” Hunk begins to ask a question, but is cut off by the sound of a sob. The two guys whip their heads around to face Lee, only to see her standing there with a hand clapped over her mouth, and tears pooling in her eyes. Both of them stare in shock for a minute, before Lee’s gaze drops from staring at the broken up planets outside, noticing that they are looking at her.

“Sorry, sorry I-I’m fine.” She says, her hand uncovering her mouth, so her words aren’t muffled. This also means that the tiny sob which breaks up her words is clear as well.

“Lee, what’s wrong?” Hunk asks. Keith feels like he is frozen, can only stare as the tears start to pour from her eyes. He had seen her almost cry, seen her fight back tears, and a couple times had even see some of those tears slip free, but he had never seen her like this. Shoulders shaking, breath hitching as sobs escape her, and tears falling continuously.

“I just- I’ve known my planet was destroyed for a while now, but…to see this- these **pieces** , looking so dead and lifeless. Is this what Altea would’ve looked like after? Is **this** all that would’ve remained of my home?” Lee asks, her gaze drifting back to look at the pieces of planet floating around them. 

“Lee…” She hears Keith say her name, turning to look at him. He raises his arms slightly, and Lee rushes forward, burying herself in his chest, his arms wrapping around her. Whatever had been causing him to keep his distance, he seemed to have let it go, at least for now, in order to offer her comfort, for which Lee was immensely grateful. She hadn’t realized just how much she had gotten used to being near him, and touching him until he had started to keep his distance, and she keenly feels that loss now that she is back in his arms. She decides that whatever it is that is troubling him, she is going to figure it out. But until then, she is going to act as if nothing is wrong, and hopefully Keith will eventually tell her what’s wrong. But she doesn’t want to keep her distance anymore, she wants to be close to him.

Hunk turns back around, letting the two of them have a moment as he focuses on piloting Yellow through this strange debris field. Then, suddenly something massive appears.

“Woah guys, look!” Hunk exclaims, and they break apart, looking out the window.

“Well, I’m guessing that’s what we were looking for.” Lee says. Keith’s eyes dart towards her, but her tears have dried up, her sobs quieted. The only evidence of her crying is the slight redness to her eyes. Lee gives him a smile as she notices his concerned gaze, nodding slightly to show she’s okay. Keith nods back, turning back to look at the Weblum.

Lee can only hang on for the ride as they get in front of the Weblum, which starts firing at them. Hunk pilots, while Keith looks through the video to try and figure out what they’re supposed to do. He finds a part that tells them to go to the Weblum’s blind spot, at the back of its neck behind its gills, and Hunk flies them there.

They land on the Weblum’s back, and conveniently the video plays a simple recap of what they have to do. Lee had considered wearing her armour on this mission, as it could be dangerous enough to warrant her needing it, but she is hesitant to wear it for anything other than the important, big battles. For one, she doesn’t want to risk wearing down or breaking the armour when they still need to go after Zarkon, as she will want the extra protection then. And secondly, while the armour is well-made, it still limits her movements somewhat, and she isn’t sure how the armour may affect her if she were to try and change forms. But mostly, she is afraid of losing one of the last things she has from the old paladins. Instead, she has one of the spare helmets on. As Keith and Hunk prepare to fire up their thrusters, Keith turns to look at her.

“Need a ride?” He asks, and she smiles, nodding. She steps forward, and he sweeps her up into his arms, turning on his thrusters and flying the two of them inside the Weblum, Hunk flying beside them.

The two paladins touch down inside the Weblum, Keith setting Lee onto her feet. Hunk starts freaking out about how gross it is. Keith reassures him, then makes a joke teasing Hunk about knowing explosive digestive tracts well. Lee giggles, and Keith turns to her, grinning as he grabs her around the waist, holding her tight to his side as he flies up again. She wraps one of her own arms around him as well, listening as Hunk mutters in awe of Keith making a joke. Keith touches down towards the side of the stomach, Hunk flying over to join them, when suddenly organisms appear from the walls.

“What are these things?” Keith asks.

“I don’t know, maybe they're bacteria?” Hunk suggests, and as Lee looks closer at them, she is reminded of the video.

“They look like the things Coran told us to avoid, the things that want to kill us.” She points out, and the organisms approach the two of them. Some of them go towards Hunk, latching onto him.

“Wait, wait, maybe they’re actually friendly. They seem to like me. Oh, they’re tickling me.” He says, and then steam starts to rise from where they are attached to him. 

“Hunk!” Lee exclaims, and the Yellow Paladin’s eyes widen and he starts to smack them off of himself.

“Wait, that’s not tickling, that’s hot acid! You’re right, they’re not friendly; they want to kill us.” He says, finally free of them. However, more of them appear, circling the three, who all get out their weapons. “I think they’re part of the creature’s digestive system. They’re trying to break down the food and we’re the food!”

Lee unfurls her whip, using it to smack at them, while Keith slashes and Hunk blasts. Hunk gets hit in the face by one, falling through the wall of the stomach and into the creature’s bloodstream. Keith and Lee get pushed backwards by the sheer amount of the organisms, until they stand at the edge of a cliff. As the two of them try to fight off the organisms, they both become aware of the fact that they don’t stand a chance against so many. 

“Trust me?” Keith asks, and Lee looks to the side. He doesn’t pause in his slashing, but Lee knows he is avidly waiting on her answer.

“Of course.” She replies. She is confused as to why he even needs to ask, as she thought she had made it plenty clear that she trusted him whole heartedly, and she thought he knew that. As she think though, she realizes this has something to do with the way he has been acting recently.

“Hunk, we’re outnumbered here. We’ll meet you in the third stomach.” Keith grabs Lee’s hand, turning and leaping off the cliff, pulling her with him. Lee reflexively closes her eyes, opening them as she feels Keith quickly pulling her towards the exit from the stomach. They go through it, freefalling, and Keith quickly turns on his thrusters, his arms clenching tightly around Lee to prevent her from being jerked out of his grasp. The two of them crash land on something, and when Lee looks at it she notices that it’s a ship, and there is a person in the cockpit. She feels Keith’s hands move to squeeze her shoulders, and she turns to look at him.

“Are you alright?” He demands to know, and Lee is taken aback, blinking at him. His hands slide down, and she feels his fingers brush over bare skin on her upper arms. She looks down, only to see that there are a few places on her suit where the acid managed to burn through. Her skin feels a little tender in those areas, but they weren’t in the acid long enough for it to be able to actually burn her skin.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” She says, and she sees Keith’s brows furrow, a frown tugging at his lips.

“Why didn’t you wear your armour?” Keith asks, and Lee blinks at him. Her white suit was a battle suit, meant for combat, but it was lightweight and form fitting, meant for mobility and motion, as opposed to padding or protection, like the paladin’s suits. Her fighting style was more meant for long to mid-range using her whip, and when she went close combat with her baton she relied on being fast and maneuverable. It had always been enough protection for her when fighting, but she supposed it wasn’t suited well for harsh conditions, like being submerged in acid.

“I didn’t know we would be swimming in acid. But, I’m fine, I’m not hurt. The acid barely got through my suit before you got us out of there.” She reassures, and Keith sighs, looking away. It’s then that he notices exactly what is beneath them.

“What the-? Impossible.” He says. The two of them stand up, and Lee moves off to the side out of the way, so that Keith can cut away whatever is holding the ship in place. “Don’t move, we’re here to help.”

He tells the person inside, breaking open the cockpit. He reaches in, giving a hand to the pilot and helping to pull them out. However, as he does so he suddenly attacks the pilot, pushing them away from where Lee is standing and grabbing their blaster as he moves back. He points the blaster at them, standing just to the side of where Lee watches in shock.

“Keith! What are you doing?” She cries, but he doesn’t relax his position.

“They’re Galra.” He says, and Lee turns to the mysterious pilot, studying them. She sees the symbol on their chest, realizing he is right. However, the armour the pilot is wearing doesn’t look like the standard Galra armour. Before any of them can do anything else, a massive amount of the organisms from before show up. They are amassing at the top of the chamber they are in. “Those things again!”

The Galra pilot pulls up a screen, and begins typing on it. They’re attention shifts back to the pilot, both Lee and Keith tensing.

“What are you doing?” Keith demands, and then beneath their feet the ship begins flashing red, an alarm sounding. 

“You’re going to blow your ship up.” Lee realizes, and then some of the organisms come shooting at them. Keith pushes Lee off the ship, him and the Galra pilot leaping off seconds after. As they fall Keith grabs Lee with one arm, pulling up his shield with the other. As the explosion goes off, Lee reaches out and pulls the Galra pilot so they are shielded by both she and Keith. The blast knocks Lee from Keith’s arms, sending them all crashing through the wall, and slamming into another section of the creature. They hit hard, rolling to a stop.

Lee groans as she shifts, pushing herself up to stand. She moves over to Keith, extending a hand to him and pulling him up. “You okay?”

“I’ll live. What about you?” He asks, and she nods.

“Same.” She looks over at the Galra, who has stood up as well. “What about you? Are you alright?”

The Galra nods, still remaining silent. But then suddenly the pilot runs at them, pushing Lee into Keith and then stealing the blaster from him. It runs past them before spinning, pointing the blaster towards them. Keith raises his shield, folding himself around Lee as the Galra fires. The blasts miss the two of them, and they turn to see a few of the organisms, now destroyed.

“I guess you can keep your weapon.” Keith says, and he releases his grip on Lee, his shield disappearing as well. With that, the three of them take off for the third stomach once again, Keith carrying Lee. As they pass through an opening, they suddenly spot Hunk, realizing that they’ve made it.

Hunk asks who is with them, and Keith explains how they found the pilot, and that they are Galra. He then asks if they should be saving a Galra soldier right now.

“We don’t even know for sure if they are with Zarkon. What if they were deserting when they got trapped? And even if they are with Zarkon, they don’t deserve to be left here. They helped save us, and Voltron doesn’t get to pick and choose who deserves to be saved. Just because they’re Galra doesn’t mean they’re a threat.” Lee admonishes Hunk, who looks embarrassed. 

More of the organisms appear, and they begin to fight them again, when the Weblum starts to expel the excess gas, creating a suction force that almost pulls them out. After it’s done, Hunk figures out how to get the Weblum to create more scaultrite, flying out the next time the Weblum farts. Lee, Keith, and the Galra pilot are left inside to fight for their lives as they wait for Hunk to come through with his part of the plan.

“Hunk, whatever you’re going to do, do it now!” Keith exclaims, as they are quickly being overrun. 

“Roger that, provoking giant space worm now.” Hunk replies, and Lee gasps as she feels one of the organisms land on her shoulder, the hot acid quickly burning through her suit. She cries out, moving to snap her whip back into her baton so she can knock it off, but before she can do so a laser shoots the organism. She looks up only to see the Galra pilot looking towards her.

“Thank you.” She says, and the pilot nods in acknowledgement before continuing to shoot the organisms. Suddenly they retreat, and scaultrite begins to form. The three of them move into a side tunnel, as the things begins shooting at Hunk. They huddle behind Keith’s shield until the beam cuts off. Once it has, they go back into the main area, and see a massive amount of scaultrite all over. 

“Tell me you got the scaultrite.” Hunk says.

“Grabbing it now.” Keith replies, and they begin filling bags with the scaultrite. Keith is kneeling down, attaching a bag to the train of other ones. Lee is walking towards him with another full one, when she hears the sound of a laser being primed, and she freezes. Keith spins around, his hand going for his sword, but then the Galra reaches forward, pulling Lee back towards them, and moving the laser gun to her temple. Keith’s hand freezes, before moving back and away from his sword, both his hands raising in the air. 

“You would kill us, after we rescued you? We gave you the benefit of the doubt, and you betray us? You’re just like the rest of them.” Keith accuses, and Lee trembles as she feels the Galra tense behind her. Her eyes meet Keith’s, and she can see the desperation and terror in his eyes, as he doesn’t know how to save her. The Galra suddenly shoves her forward, pulling the bag of scaultrite from her arms. Lee falls into Keith’s chest, and he wraps his arms around her. They watch as the Galra pilot flies off with the bag of scaultrite. Keith looks down at Lee, and she nods in response to his unasked question. He squeezes her own last time, before releasing her.

They get the rest of the scaultrite in bags and Keith grabs Lee, while she holds onto one end of the train of scaultrite, and they fly out of the Weblum. Hunk picks them up in the Yellow Lion, and they begin their trip back to the castle.


	10. Episode 10 (sort of)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is by far the shortest. It takes place with the other paladins, and so there wasn't anything for Lee to be involved with for that episode. So, instead this is just a really short and cute moment that takes place after episode 9, and before everyone joins up again for episode 11.

With Hunk piloting them back towards the castle, Lee decides that she needs to find out once and for all what is going on with Keith, now that they’ve finished the mission and have time. 

“Hey, Keith, can I talk to you?” Lee asks, and she sees him freeze where he stands beside Hunk. His shoulders slump, and then he turns around, not meeting her eyes. Lee despairs as they are back to this behaviour, but she has hope that soon she will have it all figured out.

“Yeah, okay.” He says, and Lee leads him through the door at the back of the cockpit, and further back into the Yellow Lion. Lee moves to lean against the wall, and Keith stands in front of her, arms crossed and still not meeting her eyes. “So what did you want to talk about?”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. It sort of felt like you were avoiding me.” Lee says, and Keith looks up at her briefly, before looking away again.

“Yeah I just didn’t think you’d probably want to be around me anymore.” He mutters, and Lee is shocked.

“Why would you think that? Of course I want to be around you. I mean we-we’re dating right? You’re my boyfriend.” Lee stutters slightly, realizing this is the first time she’s actually said it out loud. Keith looks up at her, his eyebrows furrowed.

“But, I’m part Galra. Part of the race that destroyed your planet. How can you even stand to be around me, let alone still want to date me?” Keith asks, and Lee’s heart drops as she realizes that it was her fault Keith was feeling this way. All of this could’ve been avoided if she had just spoken up earlier, but she can at least fix it now.

“Keith, I-I kind of already knew that something was up. I didn’t know that you were part Galra, but I knew you must have some type of connection to them.” Lee admits, and his eyes snap up to meet her own.

“What? How?” He asks, and Lee bites at her lip.

“Remember the first time I fell asleep in your room? When you woke up you went to the bathroom, and I stayed in bed. I was stretching and my hand bumped something under the pillow, so I pulled it out. I saw the marking on it, and I thought it was just a cool knife. But I realized you were probably keeping it under there for a reason, and I didn’t want you to think I was being nosy and going through your stuff, so I put it back, and I didn’t mention it. And then we met Ulaz, and when he showed us his knife I recognized the marking. But you never mentioned anything so I figured that meant you didn’t want to talk about, didn’t want anyone to know, so I never asked. I knew it must mean something, that the markings were the same, but I didn’t care what, it didn’t matter to me.” She explains, and Keith’s eyes widen.

“So you’ve known all this time? But you acted the exact same, you never changed!” Keith exclaimed, and Lee smiles at him warmly, stunning him into silence. She walks forward, wrapping her arms around his neck, and staring directly up into his eyes. His own arms reflexively wrap around her waist, and he stares back with wide eyes.

“That’s because you having Galra blood doesn’t change anything for me. It doesn’t change the way I look at you. It doesn’t change the fact that I’ve never felt safer than when I’m with you. It doesn’t change the fact that I still want to hold your hand, and fall asleep with you, and kiss you.” Lee murmurs, and then she pauses, looking down as a blush takes over her cheeks. She leans her forehead against Keith’s, taking a deep breath before admitting what she had just recently realized. “It doesn’t change the fact that I love you.”

Keith’s eyes widen in shock, and colour rushes into his cheeks as well. Keith stares into her eyes, seeing that she is telling the truth. He leans forward, closing the last couple inches between their lips. The kiss is tender, and soft, but passionate. It slowly intensifies, until the two pull back, breathing harder. 

“I love you too, Lee.” Keith whispers, and she feels pure joy and happiness bloom in her chest. She leans in, and they kiss again. It starts out soft, and then intensifies, their lips moving together harder, and faster. Keith’s arms tighten around her waist, tugging her so they’re pressed together fully. One of Lee’s hands moves up, wrapping her fingers in the longer hair hanging at the back of his neck. They break apart, breathing heavier, and rest their foreheads together. Then, Lee laughs lightly.

“Hey, why are you laughing?” Keith asks, and she stops, shaking her head, and pulling back to be able to see his face.

“I’m sorry. I’m not laughing at you. I’m just really happy.” Lee says, and Keith smiles softly at her.

“Me too.” He says, and Lee leans forward, pecking him on the forehead, then the cheek, then buying her face in the junction between his neck and shoulder. Her arms drop down so they’re looped loosely around his back, and they just stand in each other’s embrace.


	11. Episode 11

Lee and Keith stand, arms wrapped around each other inside the Yellow Lion. They had just said ‘I love you’ to each other for the first time, and both were practically floating from happiness. Lee suddenly gasps, pulling away from Keith.

“Something’s wrong!” She exclaims, and the two race back up to the cockpit of the Yellow Lion. Just as they run through the doors, a screen appears with Allura’s face on it. She looks frantic, and says she needs them to come back immediately, as she needs their help. Allura opens up a wormhole, and they fly through, seeing the Blue Lion come through a portal directly beside them. Both immediately have to dodge a blast of energy from the Ro-beast, which is firing on the castle.

As they talk about how it’s possible for the Ro-beast to be operational again, and how they are going to defeat it, Lee is thinking. The lions just barely dodge its laser again, and behind them massive explosions go off as it destroys two small planets. Shiro tells Hunk to distract it, while they go to get their lions, and then after he can take Keith to get Red.

“Wait! Hunk, open the hatch.” Lee instructs, and both he and Keith turn to her, eyes wide.

“What, why?” He asks.

“Last time, I was able to hold my own against it. I can go out there and distract it, while all of you go and get your lions.” She says. Keith grabs her arm, pulling her to meet his eyes.

“But last time you passed out, and now this thing is stronger.” He says, and Lee grabs his hand, squeezing it.

“Yeah, but I’m stronger now too. And last time I had just used a ton of energy to heal the balmera. This time I’m at full strength. Besides, I only have to distract it long enough for you guys to get your lions and get back out here.” She reassures, and Keith still looks worried.

“Lee, are you sure you can do this?” Shiro asks.

“I’m sure. I can handle this.” She states, and hearing no more objections, she turns to Hunk once more. “Open the hatch.”

He does so, and she heads down, Keith following her. As she steps towards the open space, Keith grabs her and yanks her back to him, slamming his lips down over hers. They break apart a few moments, and Lee smiles reassuringly. She closes her eyes, and her body melts into white light, forming the small version of her white lion. She walks to the edge of the ramp, crouching before leaping off. She freefalls down, drawing energy to herself as she does, growing larger and larger. She focuses, catching herself in midair, and looks out towards the Ro-beast.

She lets out a massive roar, bringing its attention to herself. Almost immediately it fires on her, but she dodges to the side. She finds it much easier to maneuver in this form without being pulled in opposite directions by 2 black holes and a blue star. She only has to think about moving in a specific way and she can easily move through space. The Ro-beast turns, its laser following her, and she drops down, it just barely missing her. She is suddenly reminded of when she got cut in this form by one of the Blade of Marmora during Keith’s trials. When she had turned back to human the cut was still there. She resolves to try and not get hit by a laser.

She charges forward, the Ro-beast having to take a moment to recharge and re-aim, and she darts side to side so it can’t lock onto her to fire. She isn’t connected through the coms anymore, so she doesn’t have any idea how the paladins are faring with collecting their lions, but she can’t look away from this fight for a second to see. When she gets close she leaps at the beast, but it brings its crystals in front to shield herself. Lee doesn’t stop though, digging her claws into the crystals, and climbing over the barrier to jump onto its shoulders, biting at the crystal where its head used to be. She bites down hard, growling as she moves her head side to side, trying to see if she can pull the crystal out, or break it off. 

She sees it bring its arms up to hit her, and leaps off. She runs back, gaining some distance, before spinning around to face it again. As it is still turning around she readies herself, before sending a blast of white energy rushing towards the creature. It brings the crystals up, blocking her shot, and she growls. It fires at her again, and she runs towards it, ducking and weaving and dodging its laser. When she gets closer she fires her own blast at it, forcing it to bring its crystal up to block, and cutting off its own laser. She leaps, going to attempt what she did before, but the thing is anticipating that this time, and it moves the crystal aside grabbing her with its arms. 

She snarls, whipping her head back and forth to try and bite at its arms. It starts to charge up its laser, and Lee struggles harder, knowing she definitely does not want to be blasted in the face with that thing.

 _‘Lee hang on!’_ Keith shouts inside her mind, and the creature gets ready to fire. Lee shrinks her lion form, able to slip out of the creature’s grasp, Keith firing at it and distracting it, which allows her to retreat to a safe distance. _‘Lee, you should head back to the castle now. I’m the only one who can communicate with you right now, and it’s too dangerous for you to be out here and trying to fight if you don’t know what everyone is doing and planning.’_

Lee wants to be able to stay out and help more, but she knows that what Keith says is true. She may only get in the way, or get herself or someone else hurt.

 _‘Got it. Heading back now. Good luck!’_ She says back, turning and flying back to the castle. She enters the hanger, releasing her lion and forming her energy back into her human body again. She heads up to the control room, nodding coolly at Allura. She is still angry at the princess, and until she apologizes to Keith, Lee isn’t going to forgive her.

She watches on the screen as the paladins work together, distracting the Ro-beast so Pidge can shoot it in the chest using the new weapon she got on Olkarian, causing vines to erupt from its chest. They form Voltron and are able to quickly take it down, returning to the castle.

Lee moves to stand beside Keith as soon as the paladins enter the control room. As the paladins talk to Allura, she is short with Keith, being cold and distant. She even purposefully thanks Hunk and Lee for getting the scaultrite, but not Keith. 

“Allura what is your problem?” Lee asks, stepping towards the princess.

“Lee its fine, just leave it.” Keith says, but Lee shakes her head.

“No, it’s not fine! Allura, how could you act like this? Keith hasn’t done anything to warrant your scorn or anger. If anything, he should be the one angry at you!” Lee exclaims, and Allura rolls her eyes.

“Lee please, there’s no need to cause a scene just because you think your boyfriend isn’t being treated fairly.” She says derisively, and Lee’s anger sky rockets.

“This has nothing to do with the fact that he’s my boyfriend, and everything to do with the fact that you’re supposed to be guiding Voltron, not alienating one of its members for something he can’t control! Do you honestly think this is the way a princess should behave? What do you think your father would say if he knew the way you were acting? Have you even gone to speak with him lately? Do you think he would be proud of the way you are writing off and judging an entire race because of your own personal anger? Because I know he wouldn’t be. In fact, if you went up and told him now about how you were acting, I’m sure he would think you’re acting like a child, and he would be nothing but disappointed in you.” Lee is cut off as a smack echoes through the room. Apart from some gasps, the room is eerily quiet. Lee lifts a hand to her stinging cheek. Allura still has her hand raised in the air, as she stares in shock at Lee.

“Oh my gosh, Lee!” Allura exclaims, stepping forwards and reaching out towards her. Lee jerks backwards, her eyes narrowing sharply.

“Don’t touch me.” She hisses, and Allura stops, dismayed look on her face. 

“Lee, I-I’m so sorry.” She says, and Lee looks closely at her, before shaking her head in disgust.

“Save it. You still don’t even get it yet.” Lee accuses, before turning on her heel and exiting the control room. Keith looks to Shiro, who nods in permission, and he goes after Lee. He finds her in her room, sitting on her bed, studying something she holds in her hand. It is the gold and red hair clip she wore, back when they had the party on Arus.

“You know, when I saw you at that party, wearing the dress and the shoes, with your hair up, I thought I might pass out you were so beautiful.” Keith says, sitting beside her on the bed. Lee laughs, turning to face him, and his hand reaches out, gently running his thumb across her pink cheek.

“I’m not sure if that makes sense.” She says, and he grins.

“Sure it does. From the moment I saw you walking down those stairs, you were so beautiful that I forgot how to breathe. I actually almost passed out from lack of oxygen.” Keith says frankly, and Lee giggles, shaking her head at him. Her gaze drops back to the clip, hand clenching around. “I’m sorry, I never meant to come between you and Allura.”

Her head raises, eyes wide as she turns to him. She reaches out with her free hand, catching one of his own with it, as she shakes her head.

“No, it’s not your fault! It feels like ever since we woke up, we’ve been fighting and disagreeing about a lot. When we were younger we were so close we were more like sisters, and it feels like we’ve been drifting apart. Maybe we’re just too different now.” Lee says, and Keith can see that this thought saddens her.

“I don’t think you should give up. Friends and family, they fight sometimes, and they don’t always agree, sometimes they hardly ever agree, but the important part is that you don’t let that get in between you. Sometimes you just have to accept that you disagree, and still care about them regardless.” Keith advises, and Lee nods. Keith smiles at her, leaning in to kiss her cheek, then stands up, pulling her to her feet as well. “Come on, let’s go check out this massive teludav.”

 

The two of them go out, joining the rest of the paladins as they stands around in the fading sun. They are all talking about various memories they’ve made, and Lee listens fondly as she recalls it all too. 

“You know what I remember the most?” She asks, and they all turn to her. She squeezes Keith’s hand, meeting each of their eyes and smiling. “I remember gaining an incredible family, when I thought I had lost almost everything. And I don’t intend on letting anyone, especially Zarkon, take them from me.”

The paladins all smile at her, and she feels a warmth spread from her chest out to her toes. This strange and rag tag team of humans who have accepted her, an alien without a planet or a people, wholeheartedly. Who welcomed and accepted her with open arms. There have been bumps and stumbles along the way, but she knows she will do whatever it takes to protect these people.


	12. Episode 12

As Shiro outlines the plan, Lee is standing beside Keith, and listening closely. She is feeling a low level of her bad feeling, but it flares when Shiro asks Antok and Kolivan about Thace. After Shiro has flown off in the Black Lion, Lee moves towards the two Blade members.

“So Thace is supposed to be checking in with you soon?” She asks, and they nod. “But, if something went wrong, would you know right away? Or would you have to wait until you hadn’t heard from him and then just assume?”

“No, there would be no way for us to know. If we don’t hear from him, then we may have to hold off on the plan.” Antok tells her, and she frowns. Their plan hinges on Thace being able to download the virus, but the bad feeling in her gut that is growing by the second is making her worry. She nods to them, before moving back to stand beside Keith.

“So what’s the matter?” He asks her, grabbing her hand. She worries at her lower lip, brows furrowing. Keith squeezes her hand, and he gives her a concerned gaze.

“Well, I’ve got a bad feeling. Nothing too extreme yet, but it did flare up when they mentioned Thace. I’m worried something may have happened.” She explains, and Keith nods.   
She sighs. “I mean what if we can’t go through with the plan, and everything we’ve been working towards is all for nothing.”

“Hey, if something goes wrong, we’ll figure it out. No on here wants to give up, we all want to beat Zarkon.” Keith says. Then, Shiro’s face pops up on the screen letting them know Zarkon had found their position. But then, Antok says that they still haven’t heard from Thace, and suggests they abandon the plan. Allura protests, and Lee looks to Keith, disappointed. But she sees him getting a determined look on his face. When they say it is too late to get someone else on the inside, he steps forward. 

“I’ll do it.” He says, and Lee can only stare in shock. She tunes out the rest of the conversation, feeling her heart beating rapidly in her chest. Her stomach drops, and she isn’t sure if it’s her instincts or her own dread that makes the bad feeling worsen. She tunes back in when Keith says he is doing it, and then him and Pidge move to leave the room. Lee follows right behind, but Keith refuses to look back at her.

When they get down to the hanger, Pidge begins to get to work on a pod, and Lee grabs Keith’s shoulder, pushing him a little ways away.

“I’m coming with you.” She says, and Keith shakes his head.

“It’s too dangerous.” He states, but Lee won’t be deterred so easily.

“I wasn’t asking. You can’t go alone!” She exclaims. Her hand clenches tighter on his shoulder, and Keith reaches up, grabbing her hand and taking it gently in his own.

“I have to. It’s safer-…” Lee cuts him off, disbelief coating her voice.

“How is that safer? If you get caught, you won’t have any backup! If this is just you trying to protect me, or keep me safe, then don’t!” Lee demands, and Keith shakes his head.

“It’s not just that. Yeah, going by myself means you are staying in the castle and safer, but it’s also safer for me. It’s a lot easier to sneak around and avoid being noticed at all if it’s just one person as opposed to two. If someone else came, especially you, I’d be worrying about making sure you were okay, and that neither of us would be spotted, instead of just focusing on not being seen and completing the mission.” He explains, and Lee looks away, because that’s a good point but it still doesn’t mean she wants him to go. “Plus, you have to stay here in case they need your help with anything else.”

Knowing that she has lost this argument, Lee looks down, shaking her head slightly. “Guess I can’t argue with you either.”

Keith chuckles, pulling on her hand, and Lee allows herself to be drawn forward. They wrap their arms around each other, and Lee buries her face in his chest. Keith tilts his head, resting the side of his face against the top of her head. They stand there, relishing in the calm moment before this final battle starts, both trying to push thoughts of what may come to the side, focusing on each other’s presence instead.

“Pidge, could I have a moment please?” They hear Allura’s voice, and break apart, turning to watch as the princess walks towards them. Pidge leaves, and as Allura comes closer she looks towards Lee. “I won’t even bother asking you to leave, because I know that you won’t.”

Lee nods fiercely at this, and Allura smiles slightly. Lee is tense, and as Allura once again begins to speak badly about the Galra, she gets angry again. She is about to call her out on it again, but then Allura suddenly admits that her anger had been blinding her. She rushes forward, hugging Keith, and Lee smiles. She’s glad that her best friend doesn’t hate her boyfriend anymore, but more than that she is happy that Allura is able to let go of some of the anger she has been holding onto.

The two pull apart, and Keith turns back to Lee. She steps forward, throwing her arms around his neck. His wrap tight around her waist, grip almost painfully tight, but Lee is okay with that. She is scared, but she has faith in his abilities, and in his stubbornness.

“Good luck. I’ll see you soon.” She says, refusing to say goodbye. They slam their lips together, kiss frantic with their worries and fears. When they pull back, Keith looks her straight in the eyes.

“I love you.” He says, and she smiles at him.

“I love you too.” Their eyes meet, a silent promise being expressed. Both of them will fight to survive, and to make it back to each other. They pull apart, and Keith moves to enter the pod. Lee turns, seeing that Allura had moved away to give them privacy, but hadn’t left. She walks towards the princess, and as soon as she is close, Allura is already apologizing.

“Lee, I am so sorry. You were right, everything you said was true. I was completely overcome by my anger, and I let change me into someone I am not. When you said my father would be disappointed in me, I knew you were right, and that made me angry. And in my anger I acted without thinking. It’s no excuse, I know, but I hope that you can still find it in yourself to forgive me.” Allura explains, casting her eyes to the floor as she speaks. Lee steps closer reaching out to touch Allura’s shoulder. The princess looks up, and Lee gives her a gentle smile.

“Allura, it’s alright. I’m just glad you were able to realize what was happening, and get past it. You know, I was worried. We had both changed since waking up, and we seemed to be disagreeing about things, and I had thought maybe we were growing apart. But Keith was actually the one to reassure me. He told me not to give up, and he said that the important part was that you still care about each other even after you disagree.” Lee explains, and Allura’s face softens, a smile coming across her face.

“Lee, no matter what happens, I will always care about you. I consider you my sister.” Allura says, the two reach out, wrapping their arms around each other in a hug. They then move to go back up to the control room, both feeling better now that they have settled things between them.

 

When they get back, they see the Galra fleet arrive, and the Black Lion takes off, destroying ships. Keith flies in the cloaked pod, and Shiro clears him a path through to Zarkon’s ship. Lee is anxiously watching, listening to the coms carefully and also keeping her connection with Keith wide open in case he tries to contact her that way. 

Antok and Kolivan are guiding Keith using the schematics of the ship Thace had sent to them. Shiro is struggling to keep control of the entire fleet by himself, so the rest of the lions join him, in order to give Keith more time. Lee is fidgeting as she stands in the control room, unable to do more than watch and listen. She remembers what Keith said on the balmera, and knows without a way to communicate it’d just be dangerous for her to be out there and trying to help.

Keith gets to the central hub, but then he goes silent on the coms. Lee feels a flare of unease, then her bad feeling suddenly get worse. It’s so intense, and she gasps. But after a few tense minutes, it fades back to the consistent low level thrumming it’s been at since they started this plan.

 _‘Everything alright?’_ Lee asks Keith, unable to wait anymore to find out what’s happening with him.

 _‘Yeah. Couple Druids showed up, but I’m fine.’_ He says, and Lee nods. Before she can ask anymore, she hears Lance over the coms, asking Keith how it’s going. He tells them that the codes were changed, and that he found Thace and the two of them are trying to figure something out.

Suddenly, the gravity generator fails, and the teludav is exposed to view. Coran, Allura and Lee all exchange worried looks, and Lee bites her lip. Allura starts to power up the teludav, no longer wanting to wait anymore. Lee is anxious, as they haven’t heard back from Keith since he said he and Thace were working on a solution. Then, she suddenly feels the Red Lion pulse in the back of her mind, and at the same time her bad feeling spikes. 

_‘Keith! What happened?’_ She cries, as she sees the Red Lion take off from the castle. 

_‘Thace turned the hub room into a bomb. The explosion blew me out of the ship.’_ He says, and Lee’s eyes widen, as she can hear in his voice what happened to Thace.

 _‘Okay. The Red Lion is on its way.’_ She tells him, and she hears Antok and Kolivan say they are uploading the virus. Zarkon’s ship and all of the fighters go dark, and Allura powers the massive teludav. As the wormhole begins to lower over Zarkon’s ship, Lee pours some of her own energy into powering it, not wanting Allura to completely burn herself out. She notices Allura is struggling, and tries to pour even more of her own energy in, but after Zarkon’s ship is teleported, Allura faints. Lee rushes forward, grabbing her and gently lowering the two of them to the floor.

“Allura!” She calls, but the princess’s eyes stayed closed. Coran turns at hearing her cry, but he turns back to pilot the castle through the wormhole. Lee is holding Allura in her arms, and she closes her eyes, drawing her power up to her hands, and up her arms. From her fingers to her elbows she glows with a soft white light, and Lee opens her eyes, passing some of her energy into the princess. She isn’t healing her exactly, as Allura isn’t injured, she just exhausted herself by using too much energy. So Lee shares her own, and after a few moments Allura’s eyes blink open.

“How’s Allura?” Shiro pops up on the screen. Coran comes over, and he and Lee both help Allura to stand up. She seems a bit shaky still, so Lee holds on tightly.

“She’s weak, but okay. Lee’s helping her, so she should be fine soon.” Coran replies, and Lee looks up to smile at Shiro reassuringly. He smiles back, nodding, 

“Alright, take care of her. We’ve got things out here.” Shiro reassures, before his screen blinks off. Lee turns her attention back to Allura, who seems to be steadier on her feet by the second. Lee is still maintaining a steady flow of her energy into Allura.

“How are you feeling Allura?” Lee asks, and the princess turns towards her. 

“Better, Lee, thank you. But don’t tire yourself out trying to help me.” Allura says, and Lee shakes her head smiling.

“It’s alright, I’ve still got plenty energy left.” She reassures, and Allura nods. After another minute Allura straightens completely, nodding at Lee. Lee cuts off the flow of energy now that Allura is feeling better.

They turn to the screens, only to see the paladins form Voltron, before flying at Zarkon’s ship. The final battle is about to begin, and Lee knows that they’re ready.


	13. Episode 13

From the castle, explosions are visible all over Zarkon’s ship as Voltron sets to destroying the important systems. 

“We did it. Zarkon’s reign is finally over.” Allura says in awe.

“Yes princess.” Coran agrees. Lee turns to them, smiling, but then her persistent bad feeling erupts, and she is forced to her hands and knees. It feels like her ears are ringing, and she gasps trying to catch her breath. She feels a hand on her shoulder, turns to see Allura there. The princess’s mouth is moving, and Lee focuses on trying to hear what she’s saying.

“-ee! Lee! Are you alright? What’s wrong?” Allura cries out, and Lee shakes her head.

“Something is happening, this is bad.” Lee says, her mind racing as she tries to figure out what is causing this feeling.

“What is it?” Allura asks, but Lee shrugs helplessly.

“Guys, you’ve gotta get out of there, something’s wrong!” Lee cries out over the coms, and Voltron pause on its way to the bridge. 

“What? Lee, what do you mean?” Shiro asks. Before she can answer, they all see purple energy forming below them. Lee’s eyes widen, heart stopping in her chest. The purple energy races towards Voltron, and the second it hits Lee begins screaming. Through her connection with Keith, and the lions, she can feel the touch of the dark magic, and the absolute horror and wrongness of it makes her feel sick. The pain of the attack is so great that she can sense it through the connection. Lee’s horror turns to a white hot anger, her scream becoming a cry of rage, and white energy crackles along her arms.

Her energy finds the connections she has with the lions, pouring down them, and into the lions. Her white energy burns out the purple-ish black, freeing Voltron from the attack, and then it shoots straight upwards, exploding with a brilliant white flash once it reaches Zarkon’s ship. Lee pants, energy settling down, and she pries open her eyes. She looks up, seeing that everyone in the control room is staring at her in shock. She stands up, lightheaded for a second, but then she steadies herself, immediately looking out the screens for Voltron.

It floats, motionless, and the paladins don’t respond when Coran calls out to them over the coms.

 _‘Keith? Keith! Come on, please, please, be okay! You have to, I can’t lose you! I can’t lose any of you!’_ Lee cries out over their connection, but gets no response.

Allura tries calling out to them again, and this time finally Shiro answers. The paladins all say that they can’t move their lions, and Coran begins to explain to them what went wrong, when suddenly something begins appearing from Zarkon’s ship. It looks like a Ro-beast, but one that resembles Zarkon, and Voltron is still helplessly floating in space.

Allura says they have to do something in order to buy the paladins more time, so she orders Coran to move all power to their weapons system. He says that will leave them defenseless, but everyone there knows that what’s important is saving Voltron. The castle flies forwards, firing on Zarkon’s suit, and Allura gives the paladins a motivating speech.

The blast begins to be reflected back towards the castle, and Lee turns to Allura, the two sharing a small smile. As the beam is almost on top of them, Lee closes her eyes.

 _‘Keith, I love you.’_ Lee says, a peaceful smile on her face. There is a flash of light as the beam hits the castle, visible through her eyelids, and then everything goes black.

 

Her eyes open and she sees she is floating inside the castle’s control room. She looks over to see Allura waking up as well, then looks around, making sure that everyone is alright. The castle is extremely low on energy, and Allura instructs Coran and Slav to work on getting it back into working condition. She asks if Kolivan can get them to the Komar, and he says it will be dangerous, but that he knows a way. 

“Lee, if we are going to be fighting the Druids, I’m going to need your help.” Allura says, and Lee grins.

“Of course. I can’t wait to knock that witch Haggar down a peg.” Lee says, her grin turning vicious, and her, Allura, and the two Blade members head out. The four of them fly over to Zarkon’s ship, seeing flashes of light coming from the battle between Zarkon and Voltron. They land on one of the platforms, Allura knocking off one of the Druids.

“Attack!” Haggar screams, and Lee takes a deep breath, eyes narrowing at the witch. The four of them split up, Lee and Allura each going with a Blade member against a Druid. Lee and Antok are holding their own against their Druid, when Lee feels a surge of her bad feeling, shoving Antok to the side, and both of them just barely avoiding a blast sent by Haggar. 

She looks up at Haggar, but then feels her instincts screaming at her. She turns, seeing the other Druid preparing to fire at her. Her eyes wide, there is nothing she can do as she watches the purple energy leave the Druid’s hand as if in slow motion. Then, she feels a body slam into hers. She is pushed out of the way, the energy hitting Antok. He falls to his knees, then to the floor, and Lee drops down beside him. 

“Antok? Antok!” She cries, but she gets no response. She feels rage rise in her, her power rising alongside. She screams, leaping for the Druid, and exploding into her lion form with a flash of light. She stays as a normal, Earth-sized lion so that she will be able to maneuver better. She pounces on the Druid, claws digging into it, biting down on its shoulder, and tearing at it. The Druid cries out, its other hand lighting up with purple energy, and Lee leaps away over its head. She looks over her shoulder, and seeing Kolivan and Allura flying up, she moves her attention to Haggar.

She races towards Haggar, opening her mouth and letting out a blast of energy, which the witch blocks. She shoots back at Lee, and Lee dodges to the side. She fires again at the Druid, using the distraction to get in closer. She quits firing once she’s close enough, jumping at the witch. Haggar moves to the side, avoiding her attack, but then Allura appears on the platform. 

The two girls work together, taking turns attacking Haggar, and are able to get multiple hits in. Lee fires on Haggar once more, giving Allura the opportunity to move into place for a strike. Once Lee stops, Allura moves in, swinging her staff hard, and sending the witch flying back. She rolls after hitting the ground, her hood falling off. She stands quickly, extending one hand and firing at Allura, knocking the princess’s staff from her hands. 

Lee races forward, leaping at the witch, but her other hand snaps out, grabbing her by the neck. Her dark magic races through Lee, a freezing feeling so cold it feels like its burning her. She cries out, her yowl turning into a scream as halfway through she snaps back to her human body. 

“Lee!” Allura cries out, and suddenly she seems to absorb the energy being fired at her. Haggar’s grip weakens in shock, and Lee concentrates, her energy rising, and pushing Haggar’s out of her body. Haggar cries out, releasing Lee as the white energy lashes out at her, and Lee moves to Allura’s side. Both girls are glowing with energy, Allura purple, and Lee white. They grasp hands, and Haggar fires on them again. 

They raise their clasped hands, blocking the witch’s attack. They slowly move forwards, getting closer and closer, until with a final blast, the witch is knocked to the floor. 

“You will never destroy another innocent world!” Allura cries, and she and Lee both summon their power, letting it out simultaneously. Blasts of white and purple energy explode out from them, destroying the Komar. Haggar disappears, and Kolivan appears behind them on a platform.

“Come on!” He yells, and they quickly jump over to him. Coran picks them up in the castle, and as they move into the control room they look out over the screens and see Zarkon’s destroyed suit. Once the paladins are all on board, the castle wormholes away. Once they are safely away, everyone races to the Black Lion. Lee and Keith meet eyes, both conveying that they are okay, and they are running for the downed Black Lion. 

The cockpit opens, all of them crowding inside. The Black Bayard is in its place, but the pilot seat is empty.

“Shiro?” Keith calls his name, but he is nowhere in sight.

“He’s gone.” Lance says, and they all just stare at the empty chair. Keith reaches out, his hand grasping tightly onto Lee’s, and she squeezes back hard.

_‘We’ll find him Keith. I swear, we’ll find Shiro.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So with that, my season 2 story is over. I feel like throughout this season Lee has really grown, and I really enjoyed exploring and expanding her relationship with Keith. I hope to really get to do more interactions between her and the other paladins, have her bond more with them on a personal level, but I guess it'll depend how the next season turns out. I'm excited to see what's in store for Lee next, and I hope you guys are too! Thanks for reading, and please feel free to comment!

**Author's Note:**

> So I just realized I hadn't made any sort of announcement or anything on here, but I've started to post the season 3 story of this series, and as of now (Oct 30) I've posted the first 2 chapters. Just figured I should put a heads up on this fic just in case.


End file.
